Rain
by Mahone-chic-89
Summary: NHL Washington Capitals hockey: Mike Green suffers a terrible tragedy and is forced to go to therapy with a therapist who needs to heal from her own wounds. Will they be able to heal one another or are they both damaged beyond repair?
1. Broken

It had been one week since the accident. One week since the day she was taken from this world…since she was no longer with him…since he had, for the first time in his life, felt utterly and completely alone. He had locked himself up in his apartment for the past week…the apartment he had shared with her…and refused to answer the door. He had taken all of her things and put them into black plastic garbage bags, unable to look at them.

He felt sick all the time and he couldn't keep any kind of food down whatsoever. He felt like he was dying, or at least a part of him was. But more than that Mike Green felt angry…infuriated…enraged at the injustice that had been done to him and to his beautiful fiancé. And the most infuriating thing about the entire situation was that there was no one he could blame…no one he could pursue to seek vengeance for her death. The man who had t-boned her car had died in the crash as well…the drunken fool. There was nothing left for Mike to use to let out the anger that was boiling up inside of him.

"Mike?" called a voice just outside of his door.

Mike grimaced as he heard his best friend calling out to him. He hadn't seen him in a week since the accident…hell he hadn't seen anyone since the accident.

"Mike, come on," pleaded Washington Capitals' all-star center, Brooks Laich, "It's been a week…this isn't healthy, man. I'm your best friend! Let me in, Mike."

Mike scowled at the door again, hesitating before he slowly walked over to it and opened it up ever so slightly.

Brooks Laich sighed in relief when he saw Mike peeking out the door, "Mike, I swear man it's just me."

Mike sighed as he slowly opened the door some more and stepped out of the way to let Brooks inside.

"How you holding up?" asked Brooks as he eyed the several black plastic trash bags set up near the door to the apartment.

Mike just gave Brooks a look, "How do you think?" he muttered, giving one of the bags a kick, "This is…her things. I…I can't look at them."

Brooks frowned and gave his friend a sympathetic pat on the back, "I'm sorry, Mike…I really am. I don't…I don't know what else to say or what to do…hell no one does. The team's worried about you Mike. No one's heard from you since the accident."

"I needed some time alone to deal…with things," muttered Mike as he glanced away from Brooks' bright blue, piercing gaze.

Brooks nodded in understanding, "Yeah I get that…but don't you think it's time you come out now? See your friends? Let us help you get through this? It's not healthy staying locked up in this place. You need a change of scenery…some fresh air…fresh food," he added as he grimaced at the leftover pizza that had been lying on Mike's counter for God only knows how long.

Mike frowned, "How's the team doing?" he asked, changing the subject.

Brooks frowned at that, realizing what Mike was doing, "They're alright. Missing our star defenseman but they're doing fine. We have a big game against Pittsburgh coming up."

Mike couldn't suppress the sneer at the very mention of the Penguins team, "Wonderful."

Brooks grunted, "Yeah…and we were kind of hoping maybe…you could try to come back and play? The team needs you, Mike…and it might be good for you too. Get you back into a routine…keep your mind off of things."

Mike gritted his teeth at that, "I'm not going to just forget her, Brooks."

"No one's asking you to…I'll I'm asking is that you get back to being Mike…get back to living your life as soon as possible. Sitting around in your apartment all day dwelling on what happened isn't helping you or anyone else. My guess is that it's only making the pain that much worse."

Mike looked away, "When's the game?"

"Tomorrow night…seven on home ice," said Brooks with a relieved sigh, "Practice is tomorrow morning, usual time, usual place."

Mike nodded, his teeth still clenched with tension as he contemplated returning to the ice, "Okay…I'll see what I can do."

Brooks gave Mike a concerned look as he turned to leave, "Alright…I'll leave you alone. Hope to see you tomorrow, buddy. You've been missed."

Mike sighed wearily as Brooks left and shut the door behind him. He wondered if he was making the right choice…coming back so soon after…after she died. Hell he couldn't even say out loud what had happened. He was messed up and he knew it, but he sure as hell wasn't going to go see some shrink. That was for damn sure. He hated doctors, especially psychologists. Just the thought of going to one made him cringe. The last thing he wanted to do was share his most intimate details with some stranger who had no idea what he was going through. No, he would deal with this himself. He was a big boy…he didn't need someone telling him how to feel or what to do. He could do that himself. After all, he was Mike Green, the Washington Capital's star defenseman…he could handle it…

…

_The broken clock is a__comfort__, it helps me sleep tonight__  
><em>_Maybe it can stop tomorrow from stealing all my time__  
><em>_I am here still waiting though i still have my doubts__  
><em>_I am damaged at best, like you've already figured out___

_I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing__  
><em>_With a broken heart that's still beating__  
><em>_In the pain, there is healing__  
><em>_In your name I find meaning__  
><em>_So I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on__  
><em>_I'm barely holdin' on to you___

_The broken locks were a warning you got inside my head__  
><em>_I tried my best to be guarded, I'm an open book instead__  
><em>_I still see your reflection inside of my eyes__  
><em>_That are looking for a purpose, they're still looking for life___

_I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing__  
><em>_with a broken heart that's still beating__  
><em>_In the pain (in the pain), is there healing__  
><em>_In your name (in your name) I find meaning__  
><em>_So I'm holdin' on__  
><em>_I'm barely holdin' on to you_

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	2. Losing Control

**WARNING: The "F-bomb" is dropped frequently during part of this chapter so if you don't like it don't read it! Just a heads up!**

At practice the team had been awkwardly quiet around Mike Green. No one quite knew what to say or how to act around him. Mike understood the awkwardness and kept the talking to a minimum. When he did speak it was strictly about hockey and who he would play alongside in the game that night. Brooks Laich tried to keep the mood light by cracking a joke here and there or talking to Mike like everything was okay. Mike wasn't sure whether to be thankful or annoyed by his friend's actions. Nothing was okay…how could he skate around and talk like nothing had happened? Then again, that might be better than the alternative.

All in all the practice was frustrating for both the team and the coaches who seemed to struggle with how to approach the situation with Mike. They decided to leave him alone for now and let him deal with the issue on his own. As long as he played well tonight they were happy…

…

Karl Alzner glanced nervously at Mike Green as the team lined up for their first face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Verizon Center in downtown D.C. He seemed to be okay…more quiet than usual but he had geared up just like everyone else in the locker room and took to the ice with the same old enthusiasm he always had.

"You ready?" asked Alzner as he lined up opposite of Green.

Mike glanced at his teammate briefly and gave a curt nod. Karl Alzner frowned at that and began to feel the worry gnaw at his gut once again. But there was no time to contemplate Mike's state of mind. The puck had dropped and the players scrambled into position, forcing Alzner to accept whatever condition Mike was in.

Nicklas Backstrom acquired the puck immediately on the draw, robbing the Penguin's captain, Sidney Crosby. He moved deftly to the side and sent the puck up the ice toward the Capital's all-star captain, Alexander Ovechkin. Alex snatched the puck and raced up the ice, tongue hanging out in excitement as he weaved in-between the Penguin's defensemen. Backstrom and Mathieu Perreault raced up the ice to back Ovechkin up while Alzner and Green took positions up high in case the puck headed back their way.

Sure enough, Evgeni Malkin swiped the puck away from Backstrom just as Ovechkin sent it his way and began to race down toward the Capital's zone. Alzner cursed and began to back up along with Green as they skated backwards, their eyes darting from Malkin to the waiting Sidney Crosby who raced up alongside his teammate. Malkin passed the puck over to Crosby and the Penguin's captain raced toward the net.

"Green!" shouted Alzner, trying to get his teammate to intercept the racing captain.

Mike snapped out of the daze he was in and began to race towards Sidney Crosby…but he was too late. The captain raised his stick and sent a slapshot right between the legs of Michael Neuvirth. Alzner cursed as the Penguins began to celebrate their first goal of the night. He cast an angry glare in Mike's direction.

"Mike what the hell?" he shouted, "You had him! He was right there! What the hell were you doing?"

Mike felt anger boiling up inside of him. What the hell was he doing? He was having a flashback to the time he first asked his fiancé to see him play. He was remembering the way she looked in the stands…her blonde hair long and curled just for him…her eyes shining with pride as she watched him score a goal…and then he thought about how she'd never do that again…she'd never see him score goals or block shots…she'd never be in her usual seat watching him…she'd never be there ever again. That's what he was doing. And this punk kid was going to try and call him out? Mike sneered openly at that.

"Shut the fuck up, Alzner!" roared Mike angrily as he advanced on the kid.

"Dude, what the hell? Back off, Mike!" shouted Alzner as he tried to skate away.

"Don't tell me what to do!" shouted Mike, "And don't you dare call me out like that!"

"It's not my fault your mind wasn't in the game!" argued Alzner, getting defensive, "Don't get in my face and start screaming at me for your mistakes!"

That was enough for Mike. In that moment he snapped and lunged at Karl Alzner. The two players fell to the ice in a flurry of fists as gear began to fly off of them. Alex Ovechkin narrowly dodged a helmet as he skated over, trying to break up the fight.

Sidney Crosby watched the scene with a frown on his face. Normally he'd have made fun of such a scene…two players from the same team fighting one another…but under the circumstances he actually felt a twinge of sympathy for Mike Green. He and the rest of his team had heard what had happened to Mike's fiancé and they all found themselves looking away from the fight, saddened by the pain Mike was going through.

"Stop it!" shouted Ovechkin as he and Backstrom tried to pry them apart.

Mathieu Perreault began to curse in French as he watched the four players struggling on the ice. After a long moment, Ovechkin finally got a good hold on Green and pulled him up off of the ice. Backstrom grabbed onto Alzner and yanked him away from Mike's flailing fists. The referees gathered together in the center of the ice, all clearly confused as to how to deal out punishments for teammates who fought during a game.

"Ref!" shouted an infuriated Coach Boudreau from the bench.

The referees skated over to the Caps bench and leaned in to hear what Boudreau wanted.

"Give me Green, eject him from the game," he said, his face red and his hands trembling with anger and embarrassment, "He's done for the night."

The refs exchanged glances before they replied, "Alright…that makes it easier on us then. Green's out and Alzner gets five for fighting."

Mike Green was infuriated when he heard the ref's decision, "What the fuck?" he screamed, "Are you fucking kidding me? Fuck you ref! Fuck you!"

"Mike, easy man," said Brooks Laich as Mike was escorted off the ice by the refs.

"Leave me the fuck alone," snarled Mike as he threw his stick down onto the ice and stomped back into the locker room.

Brooks Laich frowned as he watched his best friend leave the game. Clearly his friend still had some deep-seated issues to deal with. It wasn't like Mike at all to lose his cool like that…especially with a fellow teammate. Brooks looked up at Coach Boudreau and saw that he wasn't pleased either by Mike's behavior.

"He's going to therapy," he said angrily to the other coaches, "I want Mike Green's ass in a shrink's chair first thing tomorrow! If he's not then I'm cutting him from the team! I won't deal with this shit all season!"

Brooks flinched at Coach's harsh and ominous words, "Uh oh," he muttered quietly.

"What?" asked Alexander Semin, sitting next to Brooks Laich, his eyes wide with shock as he absorbed what all had just happened.

Brooks sighed, "Nothing it's just…Mike hates doctors…especially shrinks…he's gonna flip."

Semin's eyes grew even more round at that. After what he had just seen on the ice…he didn't want to know how Mike would react to this news. He swallowed nervously at the thought of another Mike Green temper tantrum and tried to force himself to concentrate on the game. This was Mike's issue to deal with not his…not anyone else's…the rest of the team had to focus on the task at hand and right now that was beating the Pittsburgh Penguins…

…

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	3. Shocking Proposition

_The Next Day…_

Tessa Laverda was having the worst headache of her life…on top of one of the worst _days_ of her life. She had three clients today and all of them seemed to be making little to no progress with their varying issues. She was beginning to wonder if she was losing her edge. She had a reputation for being one of the best therapists in the world but lately things weren't going so well.

"Damn you, Jack," she muttered to herself, cursing her ex-husband.

It had only been three weeks ago she had caught him making love to some blonde girl in their bed. She had been away on a conference for behavior therapy and had arrived back home in Washington D.C. a day early to surprise her husband, only to find him not missing her at all. The memory of that moment burned into her mind. Maybe that was what caused her migraine today. Between dealing with a divorce, unresponsive clients and a suddenly unorganized office, Tessa was ready to just throw in the towel.

"Hey!" chirped a blonde woman as she stepped into Tessa's office.

Tessa's office was originally the guest house that was connected to the main part of the house she had shared with her husband. Because her business operated out of the house she was given the ownership of the property, much to her ex-husband's disgust. Her office was small but functional. The original bedroom had been converted into a private office and the main living area had been turned into the main room where she conducted her sessions. She redid the little bathroom and made the place look cheerful and welcoming. She had only been in business for two years, straight out of college, but she had already built quite the reputation. She had no regrets aside from falling head first into love her freshman year and getting married right after senior year to Jack Laverda…biggest mistake of her life.

Tessa sighed with relief when she heard her best friend's voice, "Ashley, thank God. I think I'm losing my mind over here," said Tessa as she put her head on her desk.

Ashley frowned in concern as she walked into Tessa's office, "I had a feeling you were having a rough day. So…I brought you a Mountain Dew."

Tessa smiled broadly at that. In college she and Ashley had gotten completely addicted to the highly caffeinated, highly sugared beverage and it always seemed to fix her migraines.

"You are a lifesaver," said Tessa as she popped open the can and took a long swig.

Ashley shrugged off the compliment, "Eh, it's what best friends are for!"

Just then the door bell outside of the makeshift office building rang. Tessa groaned as she stood up to answer the door, "Ugh, now what?"

Little did Tessa know that her bad day was only going to get that much worse…

…

Earlier that morning, Mike Green walked into the Kettler Iceplex, the Washington Capitals practice rink and ice skating center, his head pulsating with a horrible migraine. He winced as he walked into the locker room and blinked against the harsh light.

The team grew quiet as he walked in. He refused to make eye-contact with anyone, knowing that they were all probably still pissed about last night's game. He had nearly knocked out Karl Alzner, his teammate and fellow defenseman, in the middle of a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. After being ejected from the game by his own coach, the Capitals lost the game five to zero. They lost their edge when they saw their star player crack and dropped the game, much to the team owner, GM and the coach's disgust.

"You alright?" asked Brooks Laich as he glanced over at Mike.

Mike frowned, "At least you're still talking to me…I don't think anyone else will for awhile."

"Mike you need help," said Brooks as he tried to force Mike to make eye-contact with him, "What happened last night…that wasn't like you. Dude, you need to go to therapy and work through this. No one expects you to get over losing your fiancé within a week's time. Maybe you need to go talk it out with a shrink."

Mike gave Brooks an angry and disgusted look and snorted in reply.

Brooks rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Yeah I know you hate them, I get it…but dude you gotta do something. You can't keep snapping at your friends like that."

"No you can't," agreed Coach Boudreau as he entered the locker room.

The entire team froze, giving each other nervous glances as they noted the angry look on Boudreau's face. Whatever was about to happen wasn't going to be good that was for sure.

Mike swallowed anxiously as Boudreau approached him, "You're going to therapy, Mike whether you like it or not. George McPhee, Ted Leonsis and I have all agreed that you need it. George is going to go meet with your therapist this afternoon and make arrangements…"

"But Coach…"

"No, Mike," said Boudreau harshly, "You've lost the privilege of being able to voice your opinion. You have no choice in this…either you go or we're cutting you from the team."

Mike sucked in his breath sharply at that. Cut him? Would they really cut him? But he was their star defenseman?

"We're dead serious about this Mike," said Boudreau, lowering his voice, "Go to therapy or kiss your career good bye…those are your options."

…

Tessa opened the door and blinked in surprise when she saw a well-dressed man standing in front of her. His suit screamed money and the confident smile on his face confirmed that this man, whoever he was, was important.

"Tessa Laverda?" he asked, "Hi, I'm the Washington Capitals NHL team general manager, George McPhee and I have a job for you."

Tessa blinked in surprise, trying to comprehend what was happening. She could feel the headache pounding harder right behind her eyes as her brain fought to cooperate.

"Umm…okay? I'm sorry…I don't understand."

"Ah, yes of course, I apologize," said McPhee, "I'll just cut to the chase. We have a player who is in need of some therapy and you have a reputation for being the best in the business around here so we're going to enlist in your services."

Tessa raised an eyebrow at that, "Oh? Which player?"

"You know the team?" asked McPhee, looking pleased.

"Of course…I've been a fan since I was two," said Tessa, "Who is it?"

"It's Mike Green," replied McPhee, "I'm sure you've heard about his recent loss."

Tessa nodded sadly, "Yes, yes I did…um, do you want to come in and sit?"

"No that won't be necessary," said McPhee quickly, "I'm on a tight schedule so let me just tell you the gist of what's going to happen. Mike Green will start seeing you for therapy starting tomorrow morning. You will clear your schedule and work only on him for the time being."

Tessa's eyes flew open in shock, "I can't do that! I can't afford to just have one client! And what about my other clients? I can't just leave them to deal with their issues on their own!"

"We're making arrangements to have them see other psychologists in the area," interrupted McPhee, "And as for the money, it's not an issue. We'll be paying you more than you'd ever receive if you were seeing twenty clients. Trust me…we will make this worth your while."

Tessa looked shocked, "Wow…I guess you guys are pretty desperate then, huh?"

McPhee frowned at that, "Just…work your magic and get Green back on the ice as soon as you can. Get his head in the game….we'll be in touch."

Tessa gaped in shock as she watched McPhee return to his Benz.

"Who was that?" asked Ashley as Tessa returned to her office.

Tessa sat down in her chair slowly, feeling the migraine pulsing in her head, "That was the general manager of the Washington Capitals."

Ashley's eyes grew round with shock, "Wait…what? What did he want? What did he say?"

Tessa held up her hands, begging her friend to slow down and speak quieter, "He….he wants me to work for them…and only them, no one else. I guess I'm going to be Mike Green's therapist for the next few weeks."

"That's awesome!" shouted Ashley, overjoyed at the news, "How exciting! Who would have thought your therapy skills would get us an in with the Capitals?"

"Yeah," mumbled Tessa, mulling over what had just happened.

She was just as excited as Ashley was but a part of her wondered why they were willing to go to this extreme to get Mike Green back on the ice. Sure he was a great defenseman but he was no Alex Ovechkin. Whatever this guy's issues were they had to be pretty serious. Tessa had a sinking feeling that she was going to have her work cut out for her…

…

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	4. Resistant

**Just FYI if anyone was wondering, I deleted the main summary at the beginning of this story because I changed the storyline a bit. I wasn't expecting to let the therapist have her own issues to deal with…that was a twist I came up with just recently. So I deleted the summary…just to let ya know! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! **

**Thank you to:**

**Jewls**

**Thecatchisdeadliest**

**Cullensroc**

**And my best friend **

**For all of your awesome reviews! Thanks guys! **

"This is stupid," grumbled an irritable Mike Green as he glared out the window of Brooks Laich's car.

"It's for your own good, Mike," said Brooks, trying to be sensible about the situation.

Mike sneered, "Sure about that? Or is this all for the _team's_ good?"

Brooks flinched at the accusation and glanced away, turning his attention back to the road in front of him. Mike instantly felt guilty for snapping at his best friend. It wasn't his fault all of this was going on. It wasn't his fault he was being forced into therapy.

"Sorry," mumbled Mike, "I just…I don't know. I just feel like management set this up not for me but for the team. They don't give a shit whether or not I'm doing alright, they just want me to be able to play. That's all they care about."

"Mike, that's their job," said Brooks, growing irritated with his best friend's attitude, "And besides, that's not why I'm driving you to therapy. I'm driving you because I care about you and about how you're doing. I don't give a shit whether or not we drop a game or two…what's more important is that you're okay."

Mike sighed, "Yeah, I know. But the real reason you're driving me is because McPhee took away my license, the prick."

Brooks smirked at that, "Yeah…that too. And you know why he did that."

Mike rolled his eyes, "So I won't run away or avoid therapy," he said, mimicking McPhee's voice.

Brooks sighed in exasperation, "Positive attitude, positive state of mind my friend."

Mike gave Brooks a disgusted look, "Don't use any of that psychobabble shit on me. I gotta listen to it for the next hour anyway…cut me some slack, would you?"

Brooks just laughed as he pulled into the driveway of a large, two story house buried deep in the suburbs on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. Mike groaned in complaint as Brooks put the car into park and climbed out. This was going to be hellishly miserable…he just knew it.

…

Tessa and Ashley were organizing files in the office when the doorbell rang. Tessa had hired Ashley as a part time assistant to help her manage all her paperwork and organize her sessions. Lately things had been so chaotic with the divorce and the growing list of clients so she reached out to her best friend for help. Naturally, Ashley was more than happy to oblige. Working for the FBI had its perks, but Ashley wasn't about to turn down an opportunity for a little more pay and more time hanging out with her best friend.

"That's him isn't it?" asked Ashley, her eyes glittering with excitement, "That's Mike Green!"

Tessa groaned at that, "Yeah…I guess so."

"Gee, don't look too excited," said Ashley as she gave her friend a playful shove, "Come on! This is the man you used to drool over in college! Remember?"

Tessa smirked at that, "Yeah…it used to drive Jack insane, especially once I bought his jersey and wore it all the time."

"See?" asked Ashley with a smug smile, "You are secretly excited about this."

Tessa rolled her eyes, "But his fiancé just died and I'm not even divorced yet and he's my client. Kinda puts a damper on the whole thing, don't you think?"

Ashley sighed in exasperation as she stood to follow Tessa to the door, "You're such a pessimist!"

"No, I'm a realist," argued Tessa as she opened the door. She blinked in surprise when she saw that Mike wasn't alone. A tall, blonde, blue-eyed man was standing next to him, smiling with a confidence that was literally palpable.

Ashley gasped audibly and put a hand over her mouth to keep herself from screaming with excitement. It was Brooks Laich, the Washington Capitals star center, the man who Ashley used to drool over in college.

"Hi, I'm…"

"Brooks Laich," finished Ashley.

Brooks smiled at that as he looked past Tessa and saw Ashley standing behind her. His blue eyes glittered with amusement as he watched the blonde woman blush furiously, embarrassed by her own unexpected outburst.

"Yes, that's right," said Brooks with a light laugh, "I'm here to deliver Mike to his therapy session."

Mike grumbled something under his breath behind Brooks' back. Tessa noted the reaction and knew in that moment that she had a resistant patient on her hands. Those were always the worst. Therapy only worked when the person desired to be there…and desired to change the behavior that was causing the issues. From what she was observing by Mike's reactions and body language, he wanted to be anywhere but here.

"I see," said Tessa, still studying Mike, "Well, come on in."

"Oh, I won't be staying," said Brooks, "I was told by McPhee to just drop him off and come back in an hour to take him home."

Tessa nodded slowly, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she glanced between Brooks and Mike, "Okay then…we'll see you in an hour. If you're bored, Ashley can show you around the area. She knows all the good hang out spots in town."

Brooks' eyes glowed a little at that as he made eye contact with Ashley, "That would be wonderful…if you don't mind of course," he added, suddenly self-conscious.

Ashley was turning beet red by this point. She glared at her best friend who was smiling smugly as she watched her friend squirm.

"Um, no…no of course not…I'd love to," she stammered out, much to Tessa's amusement.

Brooks smiled happily at that as he led Ashley to his car. Tessa waved at them as she watched them climb in and drive back down the driveway, leaving her alone with an irritable Mike Green.

"So what now, doc?" asked Mike, not making eye-contact.

"Now, you come inside and we'll talk," said Tessa firmly, "That is if you want to. I'm not going to waste my time talking to someone who has a poor attitude and resists the therapy sessions."

Mike raised an eyebrow in surprise at that. He wasn't used to being talked to so harshly, especially by a woman. He had a feeling these "sessions" weren't going to be a walk in the park.

He rolled his eyes and sighed, "Sure, whatever you say, doc."

Tessa narrowed her eyes at Mike and gave a frustrated little sigh. This was not going to be the easiest thing she had ever done in her life that much was for sure.

"Alright, come on in," she said as she stepped aside to let Mike in, "Let's get started."

…

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	5. Common Ground

**Thank you to everyone who is reading/reviewing! : )**

**Just FYI I won't be updating EVERY DAY like I have been during the week days…things are getting busy around here lately…so it'll be about every other day now, just to let you know : ) **

**Enjoy!**

Mike slumped down on the couch across from the chair that Tessa sat in. Tessa crossed her legs, straightened out her dress pants and pulled out a notebook and pen.

"Okay, Mr. Green," said Tessa as she scribbled down the date and name of the patient at the top of the notebook, "Let's begin with why you are here. Can you tell me why your general manager has sent you to my office?"

Mike had an annoyed expression on his face as he replied curtly, "Cause Liz died and I snapped at one of the guys on my team and now they think my mind's not in the game."

Tessa narrowed her eyes a little, "I see…and who is Liz?"

"Liz is…was…my fiancé," said Mike, wincing a little as he switched to the past tense.

Tessa frowned in sympathy as she jotted something down, "And can you tell me what happened to her?"

Mike gave Tessa an exasperated look, "Look, you know what happened so hows about we skip all that shit alright?"

"You don't feel comfortable talking about it?" pressed Tessa, keeping her voice even and neutral.

Mike sneered, "Why would I? The only woman I ever loved is dead and it's my fault, so why the hell would I want to talk about it?"

Tessa froze momentarily at that. She looked back down at her notebook and jotted some things down, all the while keeping an eye on Mike. She saw a momentary flicker of fear and surprise cross his face as he realized what he had just accidently confessed. He believed he had something to do with his fiancé's death…interesting.

"I understand it was a car accident," said Tessa quietly after a moment, letting Mike calm down after his outburst.

"Yeah," muttered Mike, not making eye-contact.

"Something we're going to work on during our sessions is blame and guilt," said Tessa as she jotted down some more notes, "We need to work on you realizing the fact that the accident was just that…an accident, and that you in no way caused it or could have prevented it from occurring. It was an unfortunate accident that no one could have predicted and you shouldn't blame yourself…that's such a heavy burden to bear I would imagine."

Mike's eyes narrowed at that, "Oh yeah? And how would you know? Did the one person in the world you loved more than life die? Why the hell should I sit here and spill out my guts to someone who has no idea what hell I've been going through?"

Tessa smiled sadly and nodded, "I understand…and that does make sense. Why should you talk to, a complete stranger about your most closely guarded secrets and feelings? Especially one who hasn't experienced this kind of trauma herself?"

Mike blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected for the shrink to agree with his rebellious attitude towards this whole thing.

"Although I haven't gone through exactly what you're dealing with, I have indeed lost the person I loved more than life, too," said Tessa, glancing away from Mike's curious brown gaze, "I caught my husband having sex with a woman I'd never seen before in our bed. Needless to say we're going through a rather messy divorce now…and it hurts like hell, Mike. To look at the person you thought you knew, you thought you loved, you thought loved you in return, and to realize that they were just a lie…he might as well be dead. The man I fell in love with is not the man I am now divorcing. I don't even know who that man is."

Mike glanced away, suddenly feeling embarrassed by his accusation, "I'm sorry," he mumbled quietly.

Tessa smiled a little, "Don't worry about it…I'm just trying to help you understand that I know what it's like to go through the trauma of losing the one you love. We've both lost the loves of our lives, just in different ways."

Mike nodded after a long moment, "Yeah…I guess so."

Tessa gave Mike a sympathetic smile, "Maybe we can help each other get through this…what do you say? Maybe during our next session we can delve a bit deeper into the issue?"

Mike gave Tessa a surprised look, "But…I've only been here for fifteen minutes?"

Tessa smirked, "I know. Your general manager seems to think that an hour a day will keep angry Mike at bay…but in fact sometimes the sessions need to be longer and sometimes they need to be shorter. It all depends on your mood, my mood and what is discussed. Today I think just introducing each other and telling each other our issues and coming up with a mutual understanding was more than enough."

Mike raised an eyebrow at that, "This…this is nothing like what I thought it would be."

Tessa smirked, "I'm not like most therapists, Mike."

"I can see that," said Mike, smiling for the first time since Liz had died. He instantly felt guilty for feeling a twinge of happiness and forced himself to return to his usual frown. Tessa noted the conflicting emotions in Mike's face and jotted down a few closing notes in her notebook.

"So, since you have to wait for your friend to get back and I have to wait for your friend to drop off my friend, you are more than welcome to join me in my house for some lunch," said Tessa as she stood up, "Nothing fancy…just some sub sandwiches if you're interested."

Mike nodded, "Um, yeah…yeah that'd be good," he said as he followed Tessa out of the makeshift office and into her home.

Tessa started pulling out the meats and vegetables from the refrigerator while Mike took a seat at the rather spacious table.

"So…do you invite all your patients into your house?" asked Mike, trying to fill the silence.

Tessa smirked at that, "Well I prefer to call them clients…but no I don't. Usually when the session is over the client drives off on his own…but in this case, things are just going to be a little bit different."

Mike nodded, "Oh…okay. Thank you."

Tessa shrugged, "No big deal…besides, it gives us time to get to know one another without me having to be all 'therapist-like' with you. It might help our future sessions go smoothly."

"Makes sense," said Mike as he stood up from the table and walked over to help Tessa put some of the items on the table.

"Just a heads up though," warned Tessa as she handed Mike a package of fresh deli meat, "You and I probably aren't always going to be the best of friends during these sessions."

"What do you mean?" asked Mike as he sat the meat on the table.

"I mean…that sometimes things are going to come out that you won't like," explained Tessa, choosing her words carefully, "Meaning that…there will be times you will get angry with me and you may leave my house angry. But all of that is part of the healing process. Just know that no matter what goes down during a session, I will not hold it against you. The healing process can be hard and it has its ups and downs and I understand that."

Mike furrowed his brow as he processed that information. He walked back over to Tessa and took some of the vegetables out of her hands just as she was about to drop them. Tessa laughed at her own klutziness while Mike smirked in amusement as he caught the tumbling veggies. Just then, a man walked into the kitchen, a scowl on his face as he took in the sight in front of him. Tessa looked up and saw him and the smile on her face disappeared instantly. Mike turned around to see what she was looking at and froze when he saw the infuriated man in the doorway. Tessa took a deep breath to calm herself as she adjusted the vegetables in her arms. Mike instantly noted the look on Tessa's face and knew in that moment who this man had to be.

Tessa cleared her throat as she turned to face the man, "Jack…what are you doing here?"

…

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(Sorry this chapter was a bit boring…I had to get some background info in there to establish some future parts of the story…hopefully I will have another update up by Wednesday!)


	6. Crazy ExHusband

**This chapter is dedicated to my best friend whom Ashley in this story is modeled after :D HAPPY BIRTHDAY 'ASHLEY TALBOTT'! You are the best friend in the world! : ) This one's for you!**

Jack glanced between Tessa and Mike for a moment, his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he studied them.

"Hello," he replied coldly, "What's going on, Tess?"

Tessa's eyes were flashing defensively as she glared at her soon-to-be-ex-husband, "I was finishing up a session with a new client. What are you doing here, Jack?"

"Still my house, Tessa," replied Jack curtly, his dark brown eyes glancing back over at Mike, "And you are?"

Mike tried to suppress the urge to tell the man where he could go as he held out his hand and introduced himself, "Mike…Mike Green, defenseman for the Capitals."

Jack froze at that and cast another accusing glare in Tessa's direction, "Is that so? Well isn't that just splendid."

"Jack, don't do this," said Tessa, giving him a stern, warning look.

"Your first major client after we start signing divorce papers just so happens to be Mike Green?" accused Jack, his voice taking on a hard edge, "Somehow that doesn't seem to be just a coincidence to me. You pick the man you had a crush on all through college at a time like this? What's going on here Tessa?"

Tessa felt herself blush furiously as her husband confessed her old crush for Mike Green right in front of the NHL star. Mike raised an eyebrow at that and a slight smirk played on his lips as he watched the jealous husband rant and rage over his presence. The entire scene was rather amusing to him.

"Knock it off!" snapped Tessa, "Nothing is going on here! We finished a session early and its lunch time so I offered Mike some food. No big deal, stop being so freaking stupid!"

Just then, the door to the makeshift office opened and Brooks Laich and Ashley walked into the house. Tessa sighed slightly in relief at the momentary interruption. Ashley was walking close next to Brooks who had his arm around her, causing Tessa to raise an eyebrow in surprise. She figured the two would hit it off, their personalities were so alike, but she didn't think they would hit it off this well this quickly. All through college she and Ashley had talked about how much Tessa was like Mike and Ashley was like Brooks and how cool it would be if the two best friends dated the two NHL players who were best friends. It had always been more of a joke really but it looked like things may be heading in that direction…for Ashley at least.

Tessa on the other hand was literally standing between her long-time crush and her infuriated, jealous husband. Figures. Somehow even this situation didn't surprise her. She'd come to expect such ridiculous, insane, bizarre situations in her life. She was a magnet for things like this.

Ashley froze when she saw Jack in the kitchen glaring at Tessa and Mike. Instantly she knew what must have been going on just before she and Brooks had entered the room. She cast an angry glare, her eyes flashing with hatred for the rather tall, dark, handsome man in front of her. Although attractive, Jack Laverda had a terrible temper tantrum and an almost obsessive need to flirt with anything that had boobs and a decent ass. Needless to say…Ashley wasn't a fan of her best friend's husband.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded, startling Brooks with her sudden change of mood.

"That's what I'd like to know," muttered Tessa as she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"I came to see if you finished the paperwork," snapped Jack, his eyes darting around the room.

Tessa gave Jack a disgusted look, "Oh trust me, I had that puppy filled out weeks ago. My lawyer has it so why don't you go talk to him instead of barging into _my_ house and yes I said my house because, news flash, it _is my house_!"

Jack glared furiously at Tessa and took a step toward her, but hesitated when he saw Mike do the same. He glanced up and made eye-contact with Mike Green. The defenseman's eyes were flashing dangerously as he silently challenged him to do anything more.

"That's cute," sneered Jack, "Already defensive of you, eh? You two must have really hit it off."

"Why don't you just shut the hell up?" snapped Tessa, her patience clearly gone for her husband, "The man just lost his fiancé so why don't you knock it off with your stupid insinuations?"

Jack froze at that and cast a surprised glance in Mike's direction. Mike looked away quickly, his jaw clenched tightly as he tried to hide his reaction from everyone.

"Get out," snarled Tessa, her eyes taking on an almost dangerous glint, "Get the hell out of my house, _now_!"

Jack hesitated, glancing around the room at everyone, not wanting to back down in front of so many people. His pride wouldn't allow him to give in so easily. Brooks Laich noted his hesitation and took a step forward himself.

"I believe the young lady just told you to leave," he said, his voice low and quiet yet firm and dangerous all at once, "She's asked you nicely, but I won't ask you nicely a second time. Leave."

Jack sneered openly at Brooks as he turned around to leave the house. He slammed the door behind him, causing one of the framed pictures in the hallway to fall onto the floor. Tessa cursed him as she locked the door behind him.

"You really should get those locks changed," muttered Ashley, still seething from just having to see Jack again.

Tessa sighed, "Yeah I haven't gotten around to it…things have been a little crazy," she muttered as she glanced over at Mike who looked like he was ready to throttle someone, "You okay?"

Mike nodded, wiping the look of pain and anger from his face in an instant, "Yeah…I'm fine," he said, a smirk suddenly playing on his lips, "So…you had a crush on me?"

Tessa blushed furiously while Ashley about died laughing right there in the kitchen. Tessa shot her a warning glare, "You better hush…I'll tell everyone your little secret too."

Ashley got quiet instantly and gave Tessa a pleading look. Tessa smiled victoriously while Ashley gave her friend a playful glare.

"My shrink's gotta thing for me," said Mike, looking rather pleased with himself.

Brooks Laich laughed at that as he noted Tessa's bright red face, "Apparently so."

"Oh, shut up," muttered Tessa, "That was in college…and besides I've been married since then."

"So? Doesn't mean you still don't have the hots for my best friend," said Brooks, a goofy smile on his face, his blue eyes twinkling with mischief.

Ashley tried to suppress a smirk at Tessa's expense and received a warning glare in return.

"All of you knock it off," said Tessa, giving them all playful glares, "And get the hell out of my house…all of you. I have other clients to see and the last thing I need is for anyone else to see all the problems their therapist has…wouldn't make for very good advertising."

Mike smirked as he headed outside with Brooks and Ashley, "No worries, doc…we all have our issues, right?"

Tessa gave Mike a grateful smile, "That we do, Mike…that we do. Now, speaking of issues," she said, turning her attention over to where Brooks was flirting shamelessly with Ashley, "Your best friend seems to have laid claim to my best friend already. What are we gonna do about that?"

Mike smiled a little, "I dunno doc…you're the shrink. Don't you have all the answers?"

"I wish," said Tessa with a sigh.

Mike gave her a quick smile as he turned to leave, "Well…I better tear Brooks away from her and get him back home. See you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," agreed Tessa as she watched Mike walk down the sidewalk toward Brooks' car.

Her first session with Mike hadn't gone as badly as she thought it would have…minus the whole husband-showing-up thing. If Jack would stay the hell out of her life it would make this so much easier, but a big part of Tessa knew that her issues with Jack weren't over yet. And she definitely knew that Mike hadn't finished dealing with his either. This was only the beginning of both Tessa and Mike's separate healing processes…there was still a lot to be done before either of them could truly move on…

…

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	7. Making Progress

**I wrote a "bonus chapter" today as an extra gift for my best friend on her birthday! :D Happy Birthday "Ashley" a.k.a. MRS BROOKS LAICH! :D**

Tessa looked up from her desk as the sound of a pounding bass vibrated through her office followed by what sounded like someone gunning their rather loud engine.

"Who the hell?" muttered Tessa in annoyance as she walked out of her private office and through the main room of the used-to-be guest house. She peered out the window and saw a matte black, custom-made vehicle sitting in her driveway. She was just about to go outside and ask who the hell they thought they were, playing such loud and obnoxious music at ten in the morning on her property, when the passenger door opened and Mike Green stepped outside. Tessa raised an eyebrow at that as she watched Mike walk up the sidewalk. She met him at the door and opened it, giving him a questioning look as she glanced back at the slick looking car.

Mike smirked sheepishly, "Uh, yeah sorry…that's Alex for ya," he muttered, "He…likes to make an entrance."

"Alex Ovechkin?" asked Tessa as she glanced back at the car that was now peeling out of her driveway. The man in the driver's seat rolled down the window and waved to Mike, shouting something unintelligible as he raced away down the street.

"Yeah…sorry about that," said Mike, looking somewhat embarrassed by the whole ordeal, "Brooks couldn't bring me today because he had to take your friend to this fancy Starbucks downtown…it's really nice actually…but yeah he's kinda preoccupied."

Tessa gave a knowing smile, "I see…so that's where my best friend's been all morning. I was wondering why she wouldn't answer her cell phone."

"Yeah…they've really hit it off I think," said Mike, shifting nervously on the sidewalk.

Tessa noted his nervous fidgeting and moved aside to let him in. He nodded gratefully at her as he slipped inside and resumed his place on the large couch opposite of Tessa's chair. Tessa grabbed her notebook with Mike Green's name on the top of it and flipped it open to where they had last left off.

"Alright, let's go back to what we were discussing last time before I stopped us early, okay?" said Tessa as she got comfortable in her chair, "Now today's topic won't be as…enjoyable or comfortable as our last session, just to warn you. We need to dive a little deeper into the main issue and that's not going to be easy for either of us. Just remember I am a professional and what is said here will stay here. I will not tell McPhee or anyone else on your team or your team's management what you tell me."

Mike raised an eyebrow at that, "Really? Cause I kinda assumed that's why McPhee wanted me to do this…so he could figure out how to…deal with me," he said, glancing away awkwardly.

Tessa frowned at that, "Well don't worry about him. If McPhee doesn't like how I do things then you let me deal with him. I won't tell him anything you tell me regardless of what he says to me about it okay?"

Mike nodded, relaxing a little as he realized that there really would be some "doctor-patient" confidentiality.

"Okay, today we need to talk about what happened with Liz," said Tessa, watching Mike carefully. She noted that he tensed up instantly and the easy-going look on his face was instantly replaced with stress, guilt, anger and loss all at once. He looked like a man who had been utterly and completely devastated, ripped apart, by the loss of the woman he loved. This was the real Mike Green…the one that the rest of the team didn't see until he was put under stress…the Mike Green that desperately needed help to move on with his life.

"I…I don't like talking about it," muttered Mike, refusing to make eye-contact with Tessa.

"I know, Mike," said Tessa in her careful, therapist-neutral voice, "But this is step one of the healing process. We need to talk about and address what happened to Liz that night. Can you tell me what went on before she got in the car?"

Mike swallowed, feeling every part of his body tense up instantly as he thought back to Liz's final hours on this earth. They were hours he longed to go back and change...hours he desperately wished he could forget.

"We…we got in an argument," said Mike quietly after a long moment, "We were talking about how things would change when we were married…about how I might not be around all the time because of my job…and she asked me if I would be willing to retire so I could stay with her. I didn't…I didn't take that too well. My job is more than a job…it's what I love. I tried to tell her that…tried to explain to her that I'm still young…hell I'm in my twenties and I don't need or want to retire, but she wouldn't hear any of it. She got really angry and…we started yelling," Mike stopped talking after that, his jaw clenched tight and his eyes growing more and more distant as he relived those moments.

Tessa let him have a moment to himself before she spoke again, "Is that when she left, Mike?" she prompted.

Mike swallowed again, feeling his throat constrict with emotion. He nodded after a moment, "Yeah…yeah she said she couldn't believe I wouldn't make that sacrifice for her. She said she couldn't believe I loved hockey more than…more than I loved her."

Tessa wrote this down in her notebook. One of the reason's Mike flipped out on Karl Alzner might have been because he was blaming himself for choosing his career over his fiancé's desires. That decision, unknowingly, had led to her accidental death. This was an issue that needed to be addressed at a later time.

"So…so she stormed out of the apartment," continued Mike after a moment, "And…and got in her car and drove off…she was so angry…she must have been driving way too fast…that's…that's what the police said. They told me she went through that intersection too fast…she didn't see the truck…until it hit her…"

Mike was too choked up to continue with his story. Tessa felt tears springing to her own eyes and it took everything in her to try and shut off her emotions like they had taught her in school. She had to remain neutral…Mike should be the only one exhibiting emotion. That's how these things worked…but it was so hard to remain calm while this gorgeous, yet broken man cried over the loss of his fiancé.

"Mike," said Tessa quietly after a moment, "I'm going to tell you something and right now I know you won't believe it, but I promise you that as the sessions go on you will learn to accept the truth. The truth is that…this was not your fault. There was nothing you could have done to stop this. You both had no idea that this was going to happen. Couples argue all the time and run out of the house in a rage and drive off to blow off some steam all the time. You both couldn't have known it would have led to this."

Mike shook his head bitterly, "But I chose hockey over her…I chose a goddamned sport over her and now she's dead."

"Mike, you can't…"

"Don't you fucking say I can't blame myself cause I sure as hell can!" roared Mike in anger as he jumped up off the couch.

Tessa blinked in surprise, but remained calm as Mike raged. This was normal…anger…it was part of the process as well but it was always her least favorite of the whole ordeal.

"You've never had to deal with this have you?" shouted Mike, "When have you been responsible for the death of someone you loved?"

Tessa took a deep breath, "Mike I may not have lost the love of my life in the same way you lost Liz but I did lose my husband in a different way," she said calmly, surprising herself by bringing her own issues into the session. That was another thing she was trained not to do…never bring your personal life issues into the discussion, _ever_. What the hell was she doing? But she had started now and she couldn't just stop and leave it there, "I was the one who filed for divorce…I was the one who forced him out of my…our…house. He cheated on me, yes, but many couples have worked through those things. I didn't even try; I just kicked him out on the street. Now every time I look at him I feel regret and guilt because I will never again hold him in my arms like I used to. He's gone…he's dead to me and there's nothing I can do to bring him back."

Mike froze as he listened to Tessa. He sat down slowly, the rage subsiding as he listened to Tessa's confession. He noticed she had tears in her eyes and realized that she probably hadn't told anybody else her true feelings about the divorce before.

"I…I'm sorry," muttered Mike, feeling guilty for his explosion.

Tessa shook her head, "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you that…that was wrong of me, I'm sorry."

Mike shook his head in protest, his dark eyes glistening with sadness, "No, I'm…I'm glad you did," he said. He paused a long moment before he looked up and made eye-contact with Tessa, "I guess we're both effed up aren't we?"

Tessa smiled a little, "Yeah…yeah we are."

"So the doctor needs someone to fix her too huh?" said Mike, "So…who do therapists turn to when their lives are screwed up?"

Tessa smirked a little and shrugged, "I don't know," she said quietly, "I really don't know."

Mike contemplated that for a moment, his dark eyes thoughtful as he analyzed what he was about to say, "Well…seeing as how we both…are screwed up in kinda the same way…maybe you could talk to me about your problems? I mean I'm talking about mine so…why not?"

Tessa smiled at Mike's offer. It was tempting…too tempting. She had talked to Ashley on numerous occasions about her issues with Jack but there was just something so enticing about the thought of sharing her problems with someone who had been through the same hell, if not worse, that she had been through.

"It's not really considered…appropriate…for a therapist to do that though, Mike…"

"Pssh!" scoffed Mike as he waved her off, "Please…who am I gonna tell? I'm not gonna go call the head shrink somewhere and report you."

Tessa laughed out loud at Mike's joke. He was quite charming when he wasn't thinking about Liz. This was a glimpse of the old Mike Green…before his life had fallen apart. Easy-going, relaxed, funny…handsome as hell…Tessa shook her head, clearing her thoughts from the path they were quickly running down. Now was not a good time, hell probably the worst time, to be crushing on her client. They both didn't need that right now.

"Okay, well if you promise to be open and honest with me then I will do the same for you," said Tessa, her eyes glittering in amusement.

"Deal," agreed Mike as he held out his hand and shook Tessa's, "So…tomorrow? Same time?"

"Tomorrow," agreed Tessa as she watched Mike stand up, a smile plastered on his face, and walk out the door to wait for his loud, obnoxious ride to return to pick him up.

…

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	8. Confrontation

_Two weeks later…_

Things with Mike had been going well. He was progressing during the sessions and slowly opening up to Tessa little by little. He kept pressuring her to talk about Jack and her issues in life but she always managed to deflect back to his problems. She could tell he was growing frustrated with her. They had made a deal that if Mike opened up more to her that she would do the same and tell him about her struggles…but she had yet to really hold up her end of the bargain.

She frowned as she contemplated it. Every time he came in she told herself that today would be the day…she would talk more about Jack and her issues but she always clammed up. She didn't like talking about it. She knew it was a form of avoidance but she didn't care. Not talking about it and burying herself in other people's issues and in her work kept her mind free and kept the migraines at bay. Just thinking at all about Jack caused a headache in her head that took forever to ease away.

Just then, a knock at her office door saved her from the headache that was beginning to form. She glanced up at the clock and frowned, wondering why Mike was here an hour earlier than usual, but when she opened the door she blinked in surprise, not at all expecting who was on the other side.

"Mr. McPhee," she said nervously as the General Manager of the Washington Capitals eyed her coolly. She hadn't seen him since the day he drove up to her house and informed her of Mike Green's situation. She wasn't too fond of the man, seeing as how he appeared to only care about getting one of his star players back on the ice instead of healing him from his emotional wounds. It just didn't sit well with her...and the look he was giving her now didn't sit well with her either.

"Mrs. Laverda," said McPhee as he glanced around the inside of the office.

Tessa flinched at hearing him call her Mrs. Laverda. Yet another reminder that she wasn't officially divorced from Jack yet. She couldn't wait to take that stupid Mrs. title off the front of her name.

"Can I help you?" prompted Tessa, inadvertently giving him an annoyed look, "Mike will be here in an hour. He hasn't missed a session and he's doing fine if that's what you're worried about."

McPhee gave her an amused smile, "Yes that's why I'm here…I want to know exactly how well he's doing. What's our timetable looking like?"

Tessa raised an eyebrow at that, "Timetable? Mr. McPhee, Mike Green is not a soufflé. I can't set a timer and tell you he's ready to go after an exact amount of time."

McPhee gave Tessa a rather cold glare, "Mrs. Laverda…"

"Tessa," she snapped, unable to handle hearing that dreaded name again, "Call me Tessa, please."

McPhee rolled his eyes, "Tessa… I don't have all season for this. How much longer till my star hits the ice again?"

Tessa gave McPhee an incredulous look. This man had balls that was for sure.

"With all due respect, Mr. McPhee…"

"George," interrupted McPhee with a curt smile, "Call me George."

Tessa gritted her teeth irritably at that, "George…Mike isn't anywhere near ready to enter that rink. He still has some serious things he hasn't finished working through. Now if you will excuse me, he should be here anytime. He comes early once in awhile to talk or get a bite to eat before we start our sessions."

McPhee raised an eyebrow at that, "And why is that? Has he taken a special interest in you?"

Tessa gaped in astonishment at McPhee's audacity, "Yes you're right, you caught us. Mike's fiancé dies in an awful accident and my husband and I are going through a divorce…meanwhile Mike and I have mad passionate sex during our sessions, you caught us. Guilty as charged," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Just then, Brooks Laich's jeep pulled up and parked next to McPhee's long black car. Tessa shot McPhee a warning glare, "Can you leave now? Please? Before you screw everything up? When Mike's ready to go you will be the first to know but until then your presence is not necessary."

"I'll be the judge of that," said McPhee as he glared hard at Tessa before turning around and getting into his car.

Brooks Laich, Mike Green and Ashley all slowly got out of the jeep and watched McPhee drive away. They turned questioning looks in Tessa's direction, all of them looking confused and somewhat apprehensive.

"What the hell was that all about?" muttered Brooks.

"Trust me, you don't want to know," grumbled Tessa, shooting daggers with her eyes at the black car as it disappeared around the bend. She shook her head in frustration as she looked up at them, "Anyway, what are you guys all up to?" she asked, giving Ashley a look with a raised eyebrow.

Ashley blushed a little and looked away while Brooks grinned wickedly from one ear to the other. Mike pretended to put a finger in his mouth and fake gagged then pretended he was strangling himself, much to Tessa's amusement. Ashley shot a glare in his direction and rolled her eyes at his antics while Brooks Laich narrowed his eyes in a mock threat as he lunged at his best friend. Mike screeched like a girl as he leapt out of the way and disappeared into Tessa's office.

Tessa shook her head and rolled her eyes up to the sky, "God help me," she muttered, but the smile tugging at the corners of her lips betrayed her amusement at the situation.

"Well, we'll be going then," said Ashley as she turned back to the car, trying to avoid her best friend's questioning gaze.

Tessa had noted that Ashley hadn't been around as much lately. She hadn't brought it up because she knew where she had been…with Brooks. It was about time her best friend found a good man and had some fun. Ashley was always around helping her with her own issues anyway…it was time for her to go do something for herself for once…and based on the goofy, mischievous grin on Brooks' face they'd been having quite a bit of fun lately.

"Be good," warned Tessa as she gave her best friend a warning look before she turned to Brooks, "And you, hockey player, you break her heart I'll break your freakin' neck, you got it?"

Brooks looked a little startled by the intensity in Tessa's eyes. In that moment he knew Tessa was dead serious…that woman really could and would break his neck. He nodded, "Uh…yeah, yeah I won't…I'll be good," he promised as he made his way back to the jeep.

Tessa smirked in satisfaction as she turned to go back into the office for another session with Mike. It would be another quiet day…just a couple hours with Mike, which she was beginning to really enjoy, and then the rest of the day all to herself.

But just as she walked inside, she froze, her eyes wide with shock at the scene that unfolded in front of her. Mike Green was pressed up against the wall, gasping for air, his eyes wide with panic and fear. Jack Laverda had his hands around Mike's neck and was squeezing as he cast an accusing glare in Tessa's direction…

…

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	9. Too Close

**Hey everyone! Had some time to write tonight surprisingly so here's another update!**

**A little shameless plug for another part of my creative side…check out my YouTube channel: mahonechic89…I just uploaded a Caps vs Penguins vid (pro-Caps of course). I also have several tribute vids to my fave players! : )**

**Enjoy the update!**

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"Jack!" screeched Tessa in shock and fury as she lunged at him, shoving him roughly away from the struggling Mike Green, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Get outta my way bitch!" snarled Jack, his dark eyes glittering with rage as he lunged past her and attacked Mike again.

Mike side-stepped and shoved Jack to the side as he rushed at him, "Dude! What the hell?" shouted Mike, his eyes wide with surprise and confusion as Jack turned to go after him again.

"Jack!" shouted Tessa, her voice taking on a harsh, warning tone as she dropped back into a martial arts fighting stance.

Jack hesitated as he saw his wife move in to fight. He knew all too well how good of a fighter she was. In high school Tessa had won national tournaments in sparring in various forms of martial arts, beating men twice her age and size. She wasn't afraid to fight and she was damn good at it.

Mike saw the glimmer of fear in Jack's eyes as Tessa moved in, ready to throw blows if necessary, and slid in behind her. He gave Jack a mocking look as he realized that as long as he stayed behind Tessa he'd be safe.

Jack glared at Mike over Tessa's shoulder but knew it was no use. Tessa had won this fight without throwing a blow. Instead of pursuing his relentless attack on Mike, Jack opted for fighting with words instead.

"What the hell is he doing here?" he snarled, "He's forty minutes early! Your appointments don't start till ten? What's going on here Tessa?"

Tessa gaped in astonishment at her husband. It was bad enough that George McPhee had accused her of unprofessional behavior but her soon-to-be-ex-husband? That was just too much.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" asked Tessa, her voice in a low snarl of rage, "Mike comes early on days he feels like talking more…I gave him permission to do so. When and for how long I see my clients is no longer any of your concern, Jack."

"You expect me to believe you two aren't up to something?" accused Jack, his eyes darting angrily between Mike and Tessa.

"His fiancé died you asshole!" shouted Tessa, her hazel eyes flashing with fury, "How dare you even suggest that?"

Jack just glared angrily at them, not saying a word.

"Get the hell out of my house, NOW!" roared Tessa, "Don't you ever fucking come here again without calling first…EVER!"

Jack curled up his lip in a snarl as he pushed passed both of them and made a bee-line for the door. Mike slid quickly away from the fuming man, making sure to keep Tessa in-between them the entire time. Only after the door closed and the sound of an engine out front started up did Mike move out from behind Tessa.

"Never thought I'd see the day I'd hide behind a woman to avoid a fight," he muttered, somewhat embarrassed.

Tessa smirked, despite her anger, "its okay…I used to do martial arts and Jack knows what I'm capable of. Well…on that happy note…how about we start our session?"

Mike gave Tessa a long look through narrowed eyes, "Only if you start talking about _him_ now," he said, crossing his arms and trying to look serious, "It was part of the bargain remember? I talk to you…you talk to me."

Tessa narrowed her eyes at Mike and slipped back into her fighting stance. Mike's eyes grew as round as saucers as he backed away quickly. Tessa burst out laughing at the sight while Mike pretended to look angry at her for her little trick.

"Oh yeah, real cute…that's great," muttered Mike, fighting the smirk that tugged at the corners of his mouth, "I'm terrified of a girl…that's awesome. Thank you for rubbing it in, really I appreciate that. Does a lot for my self-esteem and self-confidence."

Tessa had to wipe tears out of her eyes she was laughing so hard as she directed Mike back to the office, "Oh, come on…it was funny. Stop being so negative all the time."

"I don't know how you do it," said Mike as he gave Tessa an admiring look, "Dealing with that shithead back there and still being able to laugh like you do. I'm jealous."

Tessa grew quiet for a long moment as she settled down in her chair. Her smile slowly faded and her eyes took on a more serious and almost sad note. Mike noticed the change and leaned forward on the couch, silently urging her to talk, to open up to him.

Tessa looked up and saw Mike's imploring stare and felt her heart skip a beat. The look in his eyes clearly said that he cared about her and wanted to help if he could. She smiled a little at the thought…Mike Green helping her with her issues…one could dream right?

"Jack," said Tessa with a sigh, pausing for a moment before continuing, "Jack and I've been together since college…got married right after and moved here because I got an offer from an old friend who helped me set up this office and got me started. It wasn't long before Jack started acting differently. He went out with some guys he met downtown, starting hitting the bars. First it was sports bars, and then it was the clubs…which is where he met Sarah, the little blonde whore who he screwed in our bed in our house," said Tessa, her voice hard with bitterness and pent up anger.

Mike frowned at that. He knew Jack had cheated on Tessa but he hadn't known how much it had affected her. From the look of pain and anger on her face it obviously still bothered her deeply.

"Anyway, that was the last straw. Between his anger management issues whenever he was drunk and cheating on me I couldn't handle it anymore. I understand that most couples try to work things out even when one or the other cheats, but the thought of being with him again after he had been with…with that whore…I just couldn't. I couldn't do it anymore. And…sometimes I think that makes me an awful person," said Tessa, looking away, "Because I never saw myself getting divorced…I never dreamed I would be like the rest of the world. I always thought Jack and I would be together forever…I never thought otherwise. And ever since things fell apart…I guess I've blamed myself."

Mike reached out and put his hand on top of Tessa's. His hand was warm and comforting and Tessa felt a flush of heat travel through her body at his touch.

"You can't blame yourself," he said quietly, "Jack doesn't deserve someone like you…he deserves to be with a whore because he's no better than a whore himself. He's an asshole…an asshole who never realized what he had right in front of him. Any man who would hurt someone as wonderful as you is an idiot…don't blame yourself for this. It's not your fault."

Tessa smiled a little at Mike's words. His dark brown eyes were shining with a depth and level of honesty and trust that Tessa had never seen before. In that moment she knew she could tell Mike Green anything.

"Thank you," murmured Tessa quietly, "And you know you can't blame yourself either Mike…Liz's accident was no more than that…an accident."

Mike swallowed as emotion began to choke him. He nodded slowly after a moment, "I…I know. I'm beginning to realize that now…thanks to you."

Tessa smiled happily at that. It looked like Mike had finally made a breakthrough in his recovery. She smiled at him and he smiled back…and in that moment they both felt the spark. It was instantaneous and it surprised and scared them both. They couldn't take their eyes away from one another. Without really realizing what he was doing, Mike drew his face closer to Tessa. Tessa trembled as she anticipated what was about to happen. Mike's soft lips brushed hers, hesitantly, asking for permission, then he captured her lips with his and kissed her slowly and passionately.

After a few moments Tessa pulled away suddenly, her eyes wide with panic. Mike stood up from the floor where he had been kneeling in front of her and brushed off his clothes, looking embarrassed.

"I…I'm sorry," he stammered nervously, "I…I don't know…I don't know what I was…oh god, I'm so sorry."

Tessa shook her head, trying to avoid eye-contact, "No, no it's…its okay…we're both just really emotional right now," she said, trying to justify the kiss, "its okay…it's fine."

"Shit," said Mike between his teeth as he ran a hand through his messy hair, "McPhee is gonna kill us."

"No!" exclaimed Tessa, her eyes wide and startled, "No, we don't tell him anything…we don't tell anyone anything, okay? This…this was just between us okay, Mike? If we tell him or if anyone finds out…we're both screwed."

Mike hesitated but finally nodded, "Yeah, yeah you're right…okay…yeah I won't say anything."

"Me either," agreed Tessa, crossing her arms awkwardly in front of her chest. She felt a strong desire to run over and wrap herself up in Mike's arms and she tried hard to fight the urge. She was still a married woman for god's sake! What was she doing?

Just then, mercifully, Brooks Laich and Ashley pulled up the gravel driveway in Brooks' jeep. Mike and Tessa both breathed a sigh of relief as the awkward tension was broken by their best friends' arrival.

"Same time tomorrow?" asked Mike, hesitantly.

Tessa nodded, "Yes, same time tomorrow," she said, trying to smile and look as normal as she could.

Mike swallowed nervously as he walked outside toward the jeep. Brooks opened the door and let Ashley out of the car, giving her a quick peck on the lips before she headed into the office. Mike took Ashley's seat up front and glanced back over at the door where Tessa still stood, holding it open for Ashley. He gave her little wave and an apologetic smile as the jeep pulled out of the driveway. Tessa returned the gesture, sighing as she did so.

"Okay, what happened?" demanded Ashley as soon as the jeep disappeared from sight.

"What are you talking about?" asked Tessa, trying to act nonchalant.

Ashley rolled her eyes, "Oh please…I know you better than anyone. Something happened. So spill."

"You know I can't tell you about my sessions with my clients," argued Tessa, hoping to throw her best friend off the trail.

"Like that's ever stopped you before," scoffed Ashley, her eyes narrowing as she studied Tessa.

Tessa sighed as she closed and locked the office door, "Trust me, Ashley…you don't want to know."

…

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And don't forget to check out my YouTube channel for Caps vids! It's Mahonechic89!


	10. Freedom and a Breakthrough

**So I am going to try and update almost every day now if I can…I want to finish this story before I head back to college. Thanks for reading!**

_3 Weeks Later…_

"Just sign the papers, Jack," growled Tessa, her hazel eyes flashing with annoyance, "Sign them so we can be done with this already. It's been long enough."

Finally, after months of being separated, Tessa and Jack were about to be formally divorced. For Tessa it was a huge relief…but for Jack, it was stressful, worrisome and made him angry. He was relinquishing his control on Tessa…meaning she could now do whatever, or whoever, she wanted. For Jack that was a hard pill to swallow. He had been watching Tessa like a hawk the last three weeks, border-line stalking her, as she went through her sessions with Mike Green. He could see the sexual tension between them…the connection they were making with one another…and it nauseated him.

"Jack," barked Tessa, her patience wearing thin, "Any day now…I'd like to move on with my life sometime before I'm thirty."

Jack's eyes hardened at that, "No you'd like to bang Mike before your thirty."

Tessa glared coldly at Jack but didn't bother trying to refute his accusation. Things had been incredibly awkward those first few sessions after Mike had kissed her, but things had finally smoothed out and they were on a much more comfortable note now. It was obvious they were both attracted to one another but they were playing it smart…for now.

Meanwhile, Ashley and Brooks were officially an item. Ashley had gone over to Tessa's one evening with a huge grin on her face and a brand new Tiffany's heart necklace around her neck, squealing with joy as she told how Brooks asked her to be his girlfriend. Tessa was overjoyed for her best friend and pleased to see that Mike's best friend was treating her the way she deserved to be treated. It was nice to see two people truly love one another…Tessa couldn't remember when the last time she'd experienced that herself. The closest she had come in the recent past was every morning when Mike walked into her office. Something about that man made her heart skip a beat every time without fail.

"Jack what the hell?" snapped Tessa, growing irritated, "Sign the damn paper!"

"It's just…" said Jack, his dark eyes glittering with a hint of sadness as he gazed at Tessa, "After all we've been through…is it really over?"

Tessa blinked in surprise, pushing away from the table in the courthouse downtown. Her attorney raised an eyebrow in surprise at Jack's question as well and waited for her to respond.

"Jack…it's been over since the night I found you in bed with a hooker," said Tessa, her eyes narrowed in anger at the vivid memory, "It's been over for a very long time…now, sign the paper, please."

Jack gritted his teeth, his heart aching as he quickly signed the papers and shoved them over to the attorneys. Tessa gave him a small, grateful smile and stood up from the table.

"Thank you…now I have to go…I have another meeting to attend," said Tessa as she walked out the door…never once glancing back at the man she had once upon a time fallen in love with…

…

Tessa walked through the doors of the Kettler Iceplex with a little bounce in her step. She was finally free of the chains known as Jack Laverda and was ready to move on with her life…but first she had to talk to McPhee. She groaned inwardly as she walked up the steps toward the second floor of the building where the offices were located.

The sound of pucks slamming into Plexiglas, men shouting and the swoosh of ice as it sprayed out from under skates made her smile a little. The sounds of hockey…they never ceased to make her heart race. She glanced out over the rink through the glass walls along the second floor and smiled when she made out the familiar shapes of Alexander Ovechkin, Brooks Laich, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin as well as several other players.

"I've been looking forward to this for quite some time now," crooned an all-too-familiar voice.

Tessa grimaced but forced a quick smile on her face before she turned around, "George McPhee," she said coolly.

"Tessa Laverda," said McPhee as he stood aside and gestured toward his office, "Shall we?"

Tessa nodded curtly as she slid into McPhee's office and sat down in one of the chairs across from his desk.

"So…what's the news?" asked McPhee right away.

"Mike is cleared to resume his normal practice routine," said Tessa firmly and with conviction, "He has made substantial progress and his mind seems to be at ease for now."

McPhee narrowed his eyes at Tessa, "Substantial progress?" he repeated, his voice low and taking on an annoyed tone, "I thought I told you to come here and tell me when he's ready to play? Substantial progress does not mean that he's ready to play."

"No, not yet," agreed Tessa, forcing herself to keep her cool, "But it does mean that he's ready to start practicing with his teammates again…and it means he's healing, and that's the most important part, is it not?"

McPhee just grimaced at her, his eyes betraying nothing but annoyance and impatience as he sighed, "Fine…how long till he can play?"

Tessa rolled her eyes, "How many times do I have to tell you that…"

"Mike Green is not a soufflé, I know," interrupted McPhee with an irritated little huff, "Just…give me your best estimate."

Tessa bristled a little. This man had no concept of what therapy entailed. He was either completely ignorant, a hardass, selfish or just plain annoying…or all of the above. Either way, Tessa was growing tired of his attitude towards her.

"You know what, George?" she asked as she stood up, "I'll give you a call when I think he's ready, but until then Mike will still see me for sessions…this time every other day will be fine. When he has progressed enough to play you will know. Until then I won't be speaking with you anymore, is that clear?"

McPhee's eyes glittered with a combination of admiration and annoyance as he gave her a head to toe glance, "I see," he said after a long moment, "Alright, then…fine. Call me when he's ready."

"Fine," snapped Tessa as she snatched up her purse and turned to leave.

"Oh, and Tessa?" called McPhee just as she was about to walk out the door, "Congratulations on the divorce."

Tessa froze, wondering how in the world he could have known that it was now official. McPhee gave her a rather smug, satisfied look as he watched the confusion flickering in her eyes. She gave him a slight glare and nodded curtly, said, "Thank you," and then walked confidently and quickly out of his office.

…

"I can? Really?" exclaimed a rather ecstatic Mike Green as he jumped up off of the couch in Tessa's office.

Tessa laughed, "Yes, I've cleared you for practice…I think you can handle playing around with the boys for a bit…warm up those hockey muscles and get ready to go back to playing again."

Mike's eyes were glowing with excitement as he ran over to where Tessa was sitting and wrapped her up in a huge hug, "Thank you so much!" he exclaimed, right in her ear, making Tessa flinch a little, "I couldn't have done this without you."

Tessa smiled as Mike pulled back a little, "You did a lot of it yourself too, you know. And…you aren't completely healed yet. We still have some work to do, but I believe you've reached a level that will allow you to start moving into your old routine again."

Mike's eyes were glittering with happiness as he gave Tessa another hug, "You're amazing," he murmured quietly, making Tessa shiver as his breath tickled the hairs on her neck.

She smiled at him as he loosened his grip on her, "Oh, and I have a bit of other news."

Mike looked into her eyes, mere inches away from her face, "Oh? What's that?"

"I'm officially a single woman as of today," said Tessa, her eyes shining with happiness and a newfound freedom.

Mike's eyes grew wide at that, "No way!" he exclaimed, "Congratulations!"

Tessa laughed at Mike's reaction, "Thank you…it feels good to be free from…all of that insanity finally."

Mike nodded in agreement. He paused for a moment and studied Tessa. He looked into her hazel eyes and Tessa was convinced she could drown in his forever.

"So…seeing as how we're both single now…could I maybe, take you out for coffee?" asked Mike, stammering nervously, "Oh, well…I mean…maybe we could go with Brooks and Ashley. I still don't have my license back yet."

Tessa tried to suppress a laugh at the boyish smirk that appeared on Mike's face. He was so adorable…God how the hell did one man manage to make her feel like this?

"That sounds like fun," agreed Tessa, "But, remember…I'm still your therapist. We have to keep it professional until your therapy is over."

"Oh, of course!" said Mike quickly, too excited by the fact that she agreed to his offer to really hear what she was saying.

"Good…then we can all meet here tomorrow, around eight maybe?"

"Sounds great!" said Mike as he and Tessa both stood up and gave each other a hug, "I'll see you tomorrow morning, Tess," Mike murmured into her ear before he slowly pulled away.

Tessa watched Mike leave the office to go wait for his ride-of-the-day, Nicklas Backstrom, to come pick him up. She couldn't wipe the smile off of her face…she had just been asked out by the man she'd had a crush on in college for years and she had gotten divorced from her cheating husband all in one day. Damn…life couldn't get any better…

…

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	11. Fight the Good Fight

Ashley kept giving Tessa excited and amused smirks as they sat across from their respective dates early the next morning. Tessa kicked her under the table, making Ashley jump in surprise. She shot her best friend an angry glare and Tessa retaliated by giving her a stern, warning look. This was stressful and awkward enough for her. It was the first time she had gone out on a date since she and Jack had split up and it would take awhile for her to get her mind back into the dating world.

Mike kept giving her cute, curious looks, silently wondering if she as having a good time. Brooks was obviously quite amused by the whole thing and watched his best friend flirt with Tessa. Brooks' dark blue eyes glittered with barely suppressed laughter at his best friend's valiant attempts to appear attractive to Tessa. She was flirting right back, but seemed a little nervous. Both of them were rather awkward considering they were both re-entering a world they had left behind a long time ago, but all in all things seemed to be going quite smoothly.

"Alright, time for you guys to go to practice," said Ashley as she glanced down at her watch.

"Ah that's right!" said Mike, his eyes suddenly lighting up in excitement, "I get to hit the ice today!"

"Yeeaaah boy!" said Brooks Laich as he and Mike did some sort of weird hand shake-fist bump thing, much to Ashley and Tessa's amusement. For grown men they could act like such little boys sometimes, but they found it endearing…after all, it was good to see Mike acting like his old self again.

"I'm gonna skate circles around you," joked Brooks, "I hit the gym every day you were out of commission."

Mike scoffed at that, "Please, bro…you aren't the only one who works out. I worked out twice as hard when they took me off the ice. We'll see who's skating circles around who when we get to Kettler!"

"Okay boys," said Tessa, standing in between the two friends and breaking up the mock fight, "Easy does it…let's just get to Kettler and see for ourselves, shall we?"

Mike's eyes grew wide at that. He gave Tessa a surprised and rather pleased look, "You're coming?"

Tessa rolled her eyes at that, "Of course! I didn't work this hard for this long to get you back out on the ice to miss the first practice! You better believe I'm going."

Ashley smiled as she leaned over and gave Brooks a quick peck on the lips, "Awesome! We can pile in Brooks' jeep then!"

Brooks smirked, "Yeah what else is new?"

The four friends laughed as they left the coffee shop together and climbed into Brooks' jeep. For once all four of them were happy, carefree and ready to take the next step in all of their lives…

…

Ashley and Tessa found seats up in the stands and waited for the boys to suite up and hit the ice. Ashley was brimming with excitement as she clung to her cup of hot cocoa that they purchased from the little café right inside the Kettler Iceplex. Tessa smirked and shook her head in amusement as she watched Ashley fidget and practically vibrate with excitement. Even though she never missed a practice, Ashley found each and every one of them to be incredibly exciting…then again, her new boyfriend may have been an underlying reason for the excitement and the vibrating.

"Tessa," said a cool, smooth voice behind her.

Tessa groaned inwardly and rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath before she dared to turn around, "George," she grumbled as she flashed him a fake smile.

McPhee smirked at her reaction, "Gee don't look so excited to see me," he said as he slid down to her bench and settled in next to her, "Just came to congratulate you on your success with Mike…and the divorce."

Tessa raised an eyebrow at that, "You already congratulated me for both of those," she said, her voice wary and suspicious, "What's this really about?"

Ashley gave McPhee a disapproving glare before she returned to sipping on her hot cocoa. McPhee so would ruin this moment. His very presence made her and Tessa both uneasy. He never delivered any good news so whatever the hell he was up to, it couldn't be any good.

McPhee took a deep breath before he replied, turning his gaze out onto the empty ice rink, "You and Mike."

Tessa felt her heart skip a beat, "What about me and Mike?" she asked, her voice coming out more defensive than she wanted it to sound.

McPhee gave her a long, hard look through narrowed eyes, "You know what I'm talking about…now that you're single, you two decided to go on a little date this morning?"

Tessa's eyes grew wide at that, "What the hell, man?" she exclaimed in anger and a twinge of fear, "Are you spying on us? Do you have your little cronies following me around or something? What the hell is this?"

McPhee gave her a calm look and smiled a little, "Mike is a very valuable asset to this team, Tessa. We like to take plenty of precautions."

"So that's a yes," snapped Ashley, backing up her best friend, "You're stalking my best friend…what the hell is your deal? Everything's fine…don't screw it up."

McPhee didn't even bother glancing at Ashley, "Your best friend is dating Brooks Laich…that's bad enough. The last thing we need is for Mike to rebound on you and then get himself hurt because then we're back to square one all over again with him and we cannot afford that."

Tessa gaped at McPhee in disbelief, "What…the…hell….is….that…supposed…to…mean?" she seethed, talking through her tightly clenched teeth.

"It means, stay away from him…aside from your work that is," clarified McPhee as he straightened his tie, "We don't need anyone playing with his emotions."

"Who the hell says I am?" snapped Tessa, her anger reaching boiling point.

"Do what you're told, Tessa," said McPhee curtly as he stood up.

"Or what?" challenged Tessa, her hazel eyes flashing dangerously.

"You don't want to know," growled McPhee as he stalked away from them.

"Oh my God," muttered Tessa, "He can't do that!"

"Screw him," muttered Ashley, her eyes dark with anger, "You and Mike can do whatever the hell you want. And besides, you aren't playing with his emotions…he's the one that asked you out, remember?"

Tessa sighed, her eyes taking on a troubled gleam as the Capitals began to file out of the locker room, "Yeah…but what if he isn't as ready as he thinks he is? What if…what if McPhee's right and I'm just a rebound?"

Ashley frowned at that, "I don't put much stock into whatever McDouche-Bag says first of all…but I think maybe you should talk to Mike about that. Maybe keep things slow for now? You know, like go on double dates with me and Brooks like we did this morning. Get to know each other as friends first."

"Ashley I feel like I know him completely," said Tessa with a weary sigh, "Our sessions…we talked a lot about ourselves. I've told him things about me that I've told no other living soul…and he's told me things he never even told Liz."

"Doesn't sound much like a rebound to me then," said Ashley, "Let McAsshole do whatever the hell he wants…let him follow you, who cares? Flip him the bird and then you and Mike go on your merry way riding down the road to happily ever after land."

Tessa smirked at her best friend's new nicknames for McPhee. She could always count on her to have her back. And she was right…she wasn't the rebound girl…she wasn't playing with Mike's emotions…hell whatever she and Mike had so far was more than she ever had with Jack. Sure she and Mike hadn't slept together, but she still felt closer to him than she ever felt with Jack. Everything was so different with Mike…new and pure and _real_. To hell with McPhee. She would date Mike if he wanted her and McPhee could stick that up his ass.

"There's Mike!" exclaimed Ashley as Mike Green took a running start onto the ice.

Tessa jumped up and cheered as Mike let out a wild battle cry the second his skates touched the ice. The rest of the team cheered and screamed and slapped him on the butt with their sticks as they welcomed their friend and teammate back. It was a beautiful sight that brought tears to Tessa's eyes. Mike looked so happy, so free, so…so himself out there. After weeks of painful, hard work this was a success for both of them and as far as Tessa was concerned, nothing and no one could get in their way…

…

_I give my all my everything__  
><em>_Anything you want I've tried to be__  
><em>_I tried, god knows I tried__  
><em>_Or am I stuck somewhere between__  
><em>_Who I am and who I hope to be__  
><em>_Am I fighting the good fight___

_Keep pressing on__  
><em>_Fight the good fight__  
><em>_Fight, what you know is wrong__  
><em>_Keep pressing on__  
><em>_Fight the good fight__  
><em>_Fight, what you know is wrong___

_I've come so far to fall too fast__  
><em>_As for? I can't look back I try__  
><em>_God knows I try__  
><em>_I shift my eyes to the sky__  
><em>_In the distance see the horizon line__  
><em>_She waits for me__  
><em>_Fighting the good fight___

_Keep pressing on__  
><em>_Fight the good fight__  
><em>_Fight, what you know is wrong__  
><em>_Keep pressing on__  
><em>_Fight the good fight_

…

Please Review!


	12. Animal

**Just a heads up, there are some "suggestive" scenes in this chapter…nothing graphic, just implied. Sooo if you don't like, don't read! Thanks! **

_Two days later…_

Mike Green stood nervously at Tessa's door, glancing over his shoulder every once in awhile to see if anyone was watching him. Tessa had told him earlier about McPhee and he had nearly gone into a rage. How dare the GM try to get involved in his personal life? When Tessa told Mike what McPhee had said at practice, Mike had to go out for a walk to cool off. A rebound his ass…Tessa was much more than that, and besides, none of it was McPhee's business one way or another. As long as Mike could eventually get himself back into playing-mode and kept up to McPhee's expectations everything should be fine.

Tessa smoothed out the short, casual red dress she was wearing and glanced in the mirror to check her hair and makeup before she went to answer the door. Mike was waiting on the other side, wearing a sleek black button up shirt with designer jeans. His hair was done up in his infamous messy Mohawk and he had a sheepish grin on his face as he gave Tessa a head to toe glance. Tessa felt herself blush a little under his gaze and moved aside to let him in. He handed her a bouquet of beautiful tiger lilies, much to Tessa's delight.

Brooks Laich and Ashley were in Brooks' jeep and honked a goodbye to Mike. He gave them an annoyed look and gestured for them to leave. Tessa tried to hide a smirk of amusement at this. She made a mental note to talk to McPhee about Mike getting his license back.

"Roses are too cliché," said Mike with a humble shrug as he turned back to Tessa, but his eyes glittered with pride as he noted the excited look on Tessa's face, "And you seemed more like a tiger lily girl to me."

Tessa smiled, blushing again as she led Mike to the kitchen so she could put the flowers in a vase, "You're too sweet, Mike…they're perfect."

Mike smiled at that as he glanced over at the table. Due to McPhee's insistence that she and Mike not date or do anything aside from business, they had decided to have their first real date at Tessa's house. She knew McPhee probably had one of his cronies follow Mike or had one stationed outside somewhere, but she didn't care. Tonight they wouldn't worry about McPhee, or the Capitals standings in the eastern conference, or working through their problems…no, tonight was just about having fun and enjoying one another….and that was exactly what Tessa intended to do.

As they settled down to eat the delicious looking meal that Tessa had prepared, Mike found himself having a hard time taking his eyes off of Tessa. She was beautiful…long, beautiful hair that seemed to change colors depending on the light and the tilt of her head, big hazel eyes that glowed with happiness when she looked at him, and her figure…well…he had to stop there or he'd get himself into some trouble.

"So," said Mike after a moment, "Have you had anymore issues with McControl-Freak?"

Tessa nearly choked on her food at that, "No," she said with a light laugh, "Not since practice a couple days ago. I haven't been back to Kettler and I don't really intend to. As much as I would love to watch you on the ice with the boys, I can't risk running into him anymore than necessary."

Mike nodded, "That's completely understandable…I wouldn't want him to upset you anymore than he already has."

"Oh," said Tessa suddenly, "That's not why…it's not me being upset that worries me…it's the fact that if he says one more word about you I may kill him and then I'll lose my therapy license and then I'll be in prison and I'll never see you again and we just can't have that."

Mike laughed loudly at that, "No…no we can't have that at all," he said, pretending to be serious, "Although, if you want help covering something up…I would be more than willing to offer my services. I believe Ashley and Brooks would help as well. You know yesterday Brooks actually had an anger management moment when I told him what McPhee said?"

Tessa raised a surprised eyebrow at that, "Brooks? Brooks Laich? Wow…he never loses his temper."

"I know," said Mike shaking his head, "I thought the man was gonna drive back to Kettler and throttle him himself…that would've solved your dilemma with the whole losing your license and going to prison thing though."

Tessa smirked at that, "That's true…maybe we should try and, _encourage_, Brooks to lose his temper more often?"

Mike just laughed as he took another bite of his chicken parmesan. The finished up their meal and Tessa began to clear the dishes from the table. Mike helped her carry the plates to the sink and wiped down the table and Tessa was convinced she had never seen anything so attractive in her life. Jack never helped her in the kitchen. There was something incredibly sexy about a man who wasn't too prideful to help a lady clean the dishes.

Mike watched Tessa as she turned on the hot water in the sink and began to wash off the plates. He swallowed nervously, his heart hammering in his chest as he walked up behind her. Tessa could feel him close behind her but didn't react. She bit her lower lip anxiously as she waited to see what he would do. She felt strong arms slip around her and under her arms and felt her heart skip a beat as Mike took the dishrag from her hand and finished cleaning the plate that had been in her other hand.

Her breath came out in a shaking gasp as Mike finished with the plate and then let his hands rest lightly on her stomach. Tessa turned around slowly in his arms and looked up into Mike's chocolate brown eyes. The longing and desire she saw there made her heart race. Mike leaned down slowly, his hand slipping behind her head as he kissed her lightly on the lips and hesitated, waiting to see how far she would let him go.

Tessa hesitated for a moment herself. In that brief instant she flashed back to when McPhee threatened her at Kettler to never see Mike again outside of a work environment. In that moment, Tessa's rebellious side rang out. McPhee could go jump off of a cliff…this beautiful creation of God was standing in her kitchen, his arms wrapped around her, his lips centimeters from hers, his brown eyes staring into hers…she was a goner.

Tessa leaned forward and kissed Mike back, much to Mike's delight. The kiss quickly deepened from innocent pecks to a passionate kiss full of longing and desperation. In that moment both Mike and Tessa realized how much they needed one another. Mike reached down to Tessa's lower back and pushed her body up against him. She could feel every muscle in his well-toned body and her breath came out in a ragged gasp as his hands explored her curves.

"Tess," murmured Mike, questioningly as his now-very-dark-brown eyes gazed down at her longingly.

Tessa barely hesitated. She nodded quickly and reached for his hand, leading him down the hallway and upstairs to her bedroom…  
><em><br>__Here we are again__  
><em>_I feel the__chemicals__kicking' in__  
><em>_It's getting' heavier__  
><em>_I wanna run and hide__  
><em>_I wanna run and hide___

_I do it every time__  
><em>_You're killing' me now__  
><em>_And I won't be denied by you__  
><em>_The animal inside of you___

_Hush, hush__  
><em>_The world is quiet__  
><em>_Hush, hush__  
><em>_We both can't fight it__  
><em>_Whoa, I won't sleep tonight…_

…

Early the next morning, Tessa rolled over and was shocked to feel another body pressed up against hers. For a brief second she felt a thrill of panic and then realized that it was Mike. Memories of what had happened last night flashed in front of her and she smiled happily. She and Mike had made love into the early morning hours before falling asleep tangled up together. It was literally the best night of Tessa's life. The only other man she had ever been with was her ex, Jack…but from what she could tell, it didn't get any better than Mike Green.

Mike groaned a little as he blinked open his eyes against the morning light that filtered in through the blinds. He glanced over at Tessa and a big, goofy grin crossed his tired features. Tessa couldn't help but giggle at the sight: Mike's eyes half closed as he adjusted to the light, his hair standing up on all ends in every different direction and a huge, silly grin on his face.

"Good morning, beautiful," Mike crooned in a deep, sexy morning voice.

Tessa got goosebumps on her arms just hearing him talk like that, "Good morning to you too, handsome," she answered as she leaned over and kissed him.

They kissed for a while and finally, Tessa pulled away, "So, I've been thinking."

Mike raised an eyebrow at that, "How the hell could you think while we were doing all we did last night? I think I forgot my own name there for awhile."

Tessa's entire face turned red at that and she playfully shoved Mike away from her, "No, goofball," she said as she rolled her eyes, "I was thinking that today I would go to Kettler for your practice."

"But you said…"

"I know," interrupted Tessa, "But I want to go…I want to see you practice…and I want to hang out with Ashley…and I want to ask McPhee to give you back your license and let you start playing again."

Mike's brown eyes grew wide with excitement and surprise, "What? Are you serious?" he asked, sitting up in bed, his hair now in spikes sticking out all over the place, "I can…I'm ready to go back?"

Tessa laughed at him as she sat up, "As your therapist I believe you are ready to go," she said as she gave him a quick kiss, "But…I could be biased I suppose."

Mike grinned his goofy grin again at that, "Possibly…but I think I'm ready too. And I sure as hell am ready to get my license back," he added with a grumble, "You shoulda heard Brooks last night when I called him to tell him to not bother picking me up later."

Tessa laughed out loud at that, "Oh I'm sure Ashley will want me to spill everything once we get to Kettler."

Mike grimaced at that, "Yeah and I'm sure Brooks has told the whole locker room already. They're gonna razz me all day. I apologize for whatever may or may not happen at practice. My teammates…can be a little ridiculous about these things."

Tessa just rolled her eyes at that, "Pssh, please, I can handle it."

Mike smiled as he gave Tessa another peck on the lips, "We better go then baby…we're gonna be late," said Mike as he leapt out of bed with a newfound energy.

Tessa bit her lower lip and smiled. She rather liked Mike calling her "baby." Yeah…she could so get used to this…

…

Please Review!


	13. Don't Give a Damn

**A bit shorter of an update but it's a good one! I'm thinking one more chapter and then an epilogue…then it's off to college for me! Thanks everybody for reading this! Enjoy!**

"Damn, you're banging your shrink?" asked a highly-amused-looking Alexander Ovechkin, flashing Mike a huge, missing-tooth grin.

Mike narrowed his eyes at his captain, "If by 'banging my shrink' you mean making love to the most incredible woman in the world, then yes, I am."

Alex Semin pretended to gag at that while Mathieu Perreault patted Mike on the back, "Good old Mikey went and got all sentimental on us…look at him with those goo-goo eyes and stupid smile. Damn he's gonna be annoying as hell now."

"Aw guys, cut him some slack," said Brooks as he walked into the locker room, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement, "So he's wearing the same clothes he wore yesterday, so what?"

Mike through a punch at his best friend who ducked out of the way, laughing hysterically as he hid behind Ovechkin.

"I hate everyone," said Mike, glaring at all of them while trying to hide a smirk of amusement at his friends' antics.

Brooks laughed, "Yeah right, you know you love us."

Semin put an arm around Mike and pretended to cuddle with him, "Yeah Mikey! You love us!" exclaimed Semin with a goofy grin and thick Russian accent.

Mike grimaced at Semin and tried to push him away, "Yeah but not that much you freak!" he laughed as he squirmed out of Semin's grasp.

"You boys gonna play grab-ass all day or are you gonna hit the ice sometime in the near future?" shouted Coach Boudreau as he entered the locker room.

Several of the players muttered apologies as they scrambled to get all their gear on and hit the ice. Alex Semin gave Mike a wink and Mike pretended to throw up at the sight. Ovechkin laughed and muttered something in Russian to Semin and the two friends started laughing hysterically.

"I don't even wanna know," announced Mike as he strapped on his helmet and left the locker room to the mercifully quiet Kettler rink.

…

While Mike was getting razzed by the guys in the locker room, Tessa strode rather confidently upstairs toward George McPhee's office. She wore her bright red dress and slick, six-inch, black, strappy heels just for the occasion. She was on a high. She was now dating Mike Green and felt like showing herself off to the world…and rubbing it in McPhee's smug, annoying little face.

McPhee raised an eyebrow at Tessa as she practically danced into his office without so much as a knock.

"Someone's rather cocky today," he muttered glumly as he looked her over.

Tessa only smiled brighter at that, "Yes I am," she said matter-of-factly.

McPhee sighed as he took off his glasses and reclined in his black office chair, "And may I ask what the occasion for such cockiness is?"

"What? Like you're the only person in the world who can get away with an arrogant attitude?" asked Tessa coyly as she sat down across from McPhee and crossed her legs, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Uh huh," muttered McPhee as he narrowed his eyes at Tessa, "Now how about you cut the charade and tell me what the hell you're up to?"

Tessa raised an eyebrow in surprise at that, "Why, Mr. McPhee! You don't know? Did your cronies not stalk me at all last night or this morning? I'm shocked!"

"Tessa," growled McPhee, losing patience with the arrogant woman.

Tessa smirked as she flipped her hair over her shoulder, "Well…Mike and I had a wonderful night last night…and he looks quite adorable when he first wakes up in the morning."

McPhee looked shell-shocked by Tessa's statement. He gaped at her in disbelief while her eyes twinkled with the pure pleasure of surprising the man who seemed to always know everything about her life. For Tessa, this moment was quite satisfying to say the very least.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" asked McPhee, his voice low and calm, but the veins bulging out of his forehead clearly stated otherwise.

"What am I doing? I'm making love to the man that I've fallen in love with," replied Tessa, her voice equally calm and firm, "Is that such a crime?"

"It is when you're his therapist!" raged McPhee, his temper beginning to boil over.

Tessa just smiled calmly, "Oh, that brings me to another point: Mike won't need to see me for therapy anymore. He's healed…and moved on with his life. So therefore he is no longer my patient. No worries I signed off on his paperwork before he came over last night."

McPhee looked like he wanted to fly across his desk and strangle the life out of Tessa for her obstinance.

"So," said Tessa as she stood up and looked down at McPhee, "That means I no longer work for you, which in turn just so happens to mean that I can date whoever the hell I want," Tessa paused for a moment to let that sink in before she continued, "Now, before I leave, I'd like to point out that since Mike no longer needs therapy he is ready to participate in the rest of the games this season…and he'll be needing his license back. Good doing business with you!" she added cheerfully as she turned with a flourish and strutted confidently out of McPhee's office for the last time, leaving George McPhee to seethe with rage and wonder how in the hell a woman had managed to outsmart him so easily…

…

_I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation__  
><em>_You're living in the past it's a new generation__  
><em>_A girl can do what she wants to do and that's__  
><em>_What I'm gonna do__  
><em>_An' I don't give a damn ' bout my bad reputation___

_Oh no not me___

_An' I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation__  
><em>_Never said I wanted to improve my station__  
><em>_An' I'm only doin' good__  
><em>_When I'm havin' fun__  
><em>_An' I don't have to please no one__  
><em>_An' I don't give a damn__  
><em>_'Bout my bad reputation___

_Oh no, not me__  
><em>_Oh no, not me___

_I don't give a damn__  
><em>_'Bout my reputation__  
><em>_I've never been afraid of any deviation__  
><em>_An' I don't really care__  
><em>_If ya think I'm strange__  
><em>_I ain't gonna change__  
><em>_An' I'm never gonna care__  
><em>_'Bout my bad reputation!_

_No not me!_

…

Please Review!


	14. Return to the Ice

**So things are getting EVEN crazier here as I get ready to head back to college…so this is the last chapter but I will have an epilogue written sometime tomorrow : ) Enjoy!**

**AUTHORS NOTE: Just a warning Ranger's fans…you might not like part of this chapter, just a heads up. And normally I would apologize for "demonizing" another team or player…but I'm not apologizing for this one as you'll see why. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, Google Sean Avery and read the latest news articles. **

Mike Green nearly doubled over with laughter while Brooks' eyes widened in astonishment and Ashley smiled coyly as Tessa relayed the story of her confrontation with McPhee before practice that morning.

"That…is…the…best…thing…I have…ever…heard," laughed Mike as he tried to suck air into his lungs.

"I cannot believe you said that to him!" exclaimed Brooks, torn between being impressed and being terrified by the rage McPhee must have exhibited after Tessa left his office.

"I say it's about time somebody put that man in his place!" said Ashley matter-of-factly, "He had it coming."

Tessa just smirked at all of them, "Well, what's done is done. McPhee is no longer an issue in my life so now all we gotta concentrate on is the big game tonight."

Mike raised an eyebrow at that, "Tonight? He's gonna let me play tonight?" he asked, his eyes growing wide with excitement.

Tessa smiled at the happiness in Mike's eyes, "Looks like it…and, if you play your cards right and wait about an hour or two for him to cool off, I think you'll get your license back too."

"Thank God!" exclaimed Brooks Laich with a loud, relieved sigh, "Carting him around all the time gets exhausting after awhile!"

"No you just want alone time with Ashley," argued Mike as he shot Brooks a playful glare and ducked out of the way as Brooks threw a fake punch at his head.

"Men," muttered Ashley with an amused smirk.

"Alright all of you, let's go…we've got things to do before the big game tonight," said Tessa, "Beginning with a good lunch at the Green Turtle downtown!"

Mike and Brooks whole-heartedly agreed to that as they practically ran out of the Kettler Iceplex and climbed into Brooks' jeep, Ashley and Tessa following close behind.

…

Tessa paced back and forth up in the box seats high above the Capital's rink in the Verizon Center on Seventh Street. Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Capitals, had given her and Ashley season tickets and allowed them to sit up in the box for Mike's first game since going into therapy. The entire management team seemed to be excited that they were there…well, all of them except for General Manager, George McPhee.

McPhee frowned in annoyance as Tessa passed him for the millionth time. The puck hadn't even dropped yet and she was already getting on his last nerve.

"Would you sit down already?" he growled after Tessa made another pass by his chair.

Tessa glared at him over her shoulder as she paced, "No," she replied curtly.

"Mind your own business," muttered Ashley as she gave McPhee an annoyed look, "She can do whatever the hell she wants…and besides, if it wasn't for Tessa your star defenseman wouldn't be on the ice right now so shut up."

Tessa smirked at her best friend and gave her a grateful look. Good old Ashley. She was usually pretty calm and collected but when people got in her way or Tessa's way she tended to snap a little. Tessa found in highly amusing and appreciated those "snapping" moments.

McPhee grumbled something under his breath but didn't bother Tessa anymore as the referee gathered the players to the center of the rink and prepared to drop the puck.

The Washington Capitals were facing down the New York Rangers tonight and it was sure to be a tough game. The Rangers tended to play hard and didn't back down even when they were losing. They were like bulldogs and the Capitals needed to get off on a good start if they had a chance at beating them.

Everyone on the stands rose to their feet and applauded as Mike Green took his place on the starting lineup. He slid in next to Sean Avery of the Rangers and immediately the two started jostling each other. The ref gave them both a warning look before he turned to drop the puck.

"Glad to see you're back, Mikey," said Avery curtly, "Didn't think you'd make it."

"Wish I could say the same to you," growled Mike as his eyes narrowed in anger, "You should still be in a jail cell for shoving that cop you asshole."

Sean Avery's jaw tightened with anger at that. Just a few nights ago he had been arrested and thrown in jail for shoving a police officer out of his house. The officer was responding to a call regarding a party that was getting out of hand. Instead of allowing the officer in the house, Avery shoved him out the front door and slammed the door in his face. Needless to say he was taken in and booked, but, just a few short hours later, was released on bail and in Mike Green's opinion, a few hours in jail wasn't sufficient punishment for a man who laid hands on a police officer.

The puck dropped and Avery threw himself at Mike who dived out of the way just in time. He sneered at Avery as he pushed past him and began racing down the ice with Nicklas Backstrom. Alex Ovechkin took his position to the left of the net while Brooks Laich crashed the net and got in the goalie's face, blocking his view of any incoming shots. Sean Avery was too occupied with Mike Green to see the slick move Backstrom made. Nicklas slid the puck over to Karl Alzner, Mike's defense partner and then moved down the ice, closer to the net.

The Capitals were forming an ever-tightening circle around the net, forcing the defense to fall back in a desperate effort to defend the goal, but in doing so, the defense was inadvertently blocking their own goalie's view of the players around him. The Rangers' goalie might as well have been blind.

Mike rushed forward, slamming his shoulder into Sean Avery's, causing the smaller player to topple over onto the ice. Alzner saw Mike was suddenly open and was facing the net at a perfect angle. He slid the puck over to Mike and watched as Mike raised his stick up in the air and sent the puck flying through the air at lightning speed. The puck slid right under the goalie's pads, through the five hole and into the net.

The buzzer sounded and the siren began to blare as the entire rink exploded in a sudden burst of applause and screams of joy. Ovechkin began screaming his head off and rushed Mike, nearly bowling the poor man over as he hugged him. Alzner, Backstrom and Brooks joined in on the celebration and congratulated Mike on his goal.

"Now that's what I call a full recovery!" shouted a very proud-looking Brooks Laich as he gave his best friend a hug, "Damn, Tessa must be flipping out up there!"

Mike laughed at that as he glanced up at the box high above the rink. Although he knew it was nearly impossible, he could have sworn he saw someone jumping up and down and waving their arms wildly over their head...

…

Please Review!


	15. Forever Can Never Be Long Enough For Me

**So this is officially the last installment of the story! : ) I might start up another one sometime during the semester or over Christmas break…we shall see! But for now it's off to college for me where I get to room with the real "Ashley" in this story! (AKA the best friend in the world!) Thank you to everyone who has read this story! I appreciate it! : ) **

_Epilogue_

The next several months flew by for Tessa, Ashley, Mike and Brooks. Between dates, Tessa and Ashley's jobs and the boys practice and game schedules all four best friends stayed incredibly busy. Before they knew it the playoffs had arrived and tensions reached an all new level as the Capitals slowly but surely advanced their way through the rounds. They had made it through the semi-finals for the first time since 1998 back when Peter Bondra was the team's all-star and were now facing the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup finals. Both teams had won three games…it all came down to game seven in what was sure to be the most intense, emotion-driven game in years.

Early on the morning before the big game, Tessa ran into the Kettler Iceplex and made a bee-line for George McPhee's office, her heart hammering in her chest as she rushed in through his glass office door.

McPhee glanced up over his reading glasses and rolled his eyes in exasperation when he saw who it was. What the hell did the woman want now? They had both been successful in avoiding each other ever since Tessa's working relationship with him had ended. The only interaction they'd had had been brief glances, curt nods, the occasional eye-roll or annoyed sigh. And now here she was…in his office…and wanting to talk.

"Do you think we can do this?" she asked in a rush, her eyes wide and worried and her breath coming out in gasps. Based on the way she was inhaling and exhaling like her life depended on it, McPhee assumed she had run all the way up here. He raised an eyebrow at her as he slowly removed his glasses and leaned back in his chair.

"What…?"

"Do you think we can do this?" repeated Tessa, clearly not in the mood for any of McPhee's attitude, "Can we pull this off? Are the guys in the right mindset for this? What about the level of stress and tension? How are they dealing with it? Because I know Mike's been freaking out for the past two weeks since the finals started and Brooks has gone stone cold on everyone so I can only imagine what that locker room must be like."

McPhee waited for Tessa to finish with her rant. Once she ran out of breath he held up a hand to prevent her from continuing on with her diatribe, "Tessa, calm down. The guys are fine…they'll be fine. Yes they're under stress but that's normal."

"I think I should talk to them," continued Tessa, as if McPhee hadn't even said a word, "You know…make sure they're all okay and psychologically ready for tonight."

McPhee raised his eyebrow at that, "Yeah, Tessa….you look like you just came out of a tornado and you're having a panic attack. Something tells me you aren't necessarily the best motivational speaker at the moment."

Tessa gave McPhee an exasperated look, "Please, just let me in the locker room before the game tonight…okay? Just for a few minutes…let me talk to them, okay?"

McPhee gave Tessa a long, steady look before he answered, "Fine…five minutes."

Tessa breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you…you won't regret this, I promise!" exclaimed Tessa as she made a bee-line for the door.

McPhee grimaced at that and watched as Tessa bolted out of the room. Whatever the hell Tessa was up to it better not screw his team over…

…

Tessa paced anxiously outside the Capitals locker room. Out in the main area of the Verizon Center the chants had already begun. The fans were more than ready for their team to finally pull of a Stanley Cup victory and they were voicing their excitement and anxiety while the final minutes ticked down to the start of the game.

"They're all yours," said McPhee as he and Coach Boudreau left the locker room, "Five minutes…that's what you've got."

Tessa nodded quickly and ducked inside the locker room. The players all looked up in shock as Tessa walked inside. Mike's eyes grew wide with surprise.

"Tess?" he asked, "What…what's going on?"

Tessa smiled at Mike, "I just wanted to talk to you guys before you hit the ice if you don't mind…it'll just take a minute."

The players glanced at one another and shrugged as they gathered around to hear what Mike Green's girlfriend had to say.

Tessa cleared her throat and silently prayed for the right words to say as she began, "I know that you're all scared right now…you probably don't want to admit it because you're all tough hockey players, but I know you're scared…I can see it in all of your eyes. You all have a lot of pressure riding on you right now, more than anyone can possibly imagine. But I want you to remember something as you take to the ice tonight…I want you to remember who you are….who you are as individuals and more importantly who you are as a team. Look around at your teammates…you're all best friends, brothers. You aren't playing for some stupid cup tonight. No, tonight you guys are playing for each other. You've fought so many battles and have been through so much together," she said, glancing over and seeing Brooks pat Mike on the shoulder at that, "And…this is the time to prove to each other, to yourselves, what you're all willing to do for one another. Play as a team, don't play as individuals. Play selflessly…give your all but do it for each other not for your own gains. Tonight it doesn't matter who scores or who blocks the shots…what matters is that you all work together and come through this as a team. Don't let the other team separate you or cause you to doubt your faith in one another. Stand up for each other and fight for each other and if you can remember that…you'll come out victorious tonight. Keep your focus on what's important and everything else will fall into place."

Mike beamed happily as he listened to Tessa speak. He nudged John Carlson who was standing on the other side of him and announced, "Hey…that's my girlfriend," much to Brooks Laich's amusement. The rest of the team chuckled at Mike's reaction and thanked Tessa for coming in to speak to them.

"Alright, out," barked McPhee as he returned to the locker room. Tessa rolled her eyes at McPhee and gave him an exasperated sigh as she left the locker room. McPhee rolled his eyes in return as Coach Boudreau walked back in.

"Alright boys!" shouted Boudreau, "Let's show those Sharks who this rink belongs to!"

The Capitals cheered in agreement as they lined up and filed out of the locker room and out onto the ice for the game that could very easily change history…

…

By the third period the Capitals were tied with the Sharks two to two. The tension was palpable as the Washington Capitals fans desperately cheered on their team in the last ten minutes of the third period. Up in the box seats, McPhee, Tessa and Ashley were stressing out. Tessa couldn't stop pacing, Ashley was sitting so still she could have been a statue and McPhee had resorted to chewing on his fingernails, his eyes wide as he watched every move his team made.

Down on the ice, tensions were just as high. The Sharks were resorting to playing rough and the Capitals weren't taking it well. An aggressive Shark defenseman slammed Brooks Laich into the wall, infuriating Mike Green.

"Easy Greener!" shouted Alzner as he skated by, "Don't let them get to you…they're pulling that shit on purpose to draw a penalty!"

"Fuck them!" shouted Mike, loud enough for the Sharks to hear as the referee gathered the puck up for an icing call.

The Sharks players glowered at Mike as they lined up for the puck drop. Brooks skated over next to Mike and tapped him with his stick, "Easy buddy…I'm fine. Don't let them get under your skin."

Mike gritted his teeth as the puck hit the ice. Eight minutes to go…

…

The Sharks were growing desperate. The Capitals had banded together in the last five minutes of the game and were playing a more patient, calm game while the Sharks appeared to be scrambling in desperation. The Capitals played smart, moving the puck with sure, confident movements, willing to take the extra second or two to line up a pass or a shot instead of being reckless. If need be, they would wait for overtime to finish this. There was no need to make silly mistakes now. Even the big guns like Ovechkin and Backstrom backed off their normally aggressive playing style. Like Tessa had said earlier, this wasn't a game for the big guns to play like individuals…it was time for them to all play like a team. Cool and confident, the Capitals waited for the clock to drain so they could settle the score during overtime.

But just as the clock was about to wind down, a Sharks' forward rushed Mike Green and slammed him hard up against the wall. Mike was three feet away from the boards, far enough away for a boarding call. The ref's hand shot up as he blew the whistle, stopping the play from continuing.

Mike lay on the ice, struggling to regain the breath that had been knocked out of his lungs. Brooks Laich rushed over to his best friend and helped him get back onto his feet. Mike coughed a few times as he slowly stood up and adjusted his helmet.

"Damn that hurt," he grumbled angrily as the ref skated over to him.

"Well not to worry…that's a penalty shot. Had the guy not hit you, you probably would have scored on that play," explained the ref as he led the rest of the players off the ice, "Green meet me at center ice!"

Brooks and Mike glanced up at the clock and realized they only had ten seconds left in overtime. They exchanged knowing looks, both of them feeling a sudden thrill of hope.

"If I make this shot," breathed Mike, "If…if the puck goes in the net…there's only ten seconds left in the game."

"Mike," said Brooks firmly as he grabbed his friend's shoulders, forcing him to look him in the eyes, "Just stay calm, do your thing…don't think about the time on the clock or anything else. Just take your shot…the rest will fall into place. Remember what Tessa told us."

Mike nodded and took a deep breath as he gave his friend a grateful look, "Yeah…yeah play for each other…this is for you guys. Not the cup…this is for _us_."

"Exactly," said Brooks as the ref skated back over to them.

"Off the ice, Laich," ordered the ref, "Green, take your position!"

Brooks gave his best friend another encouraging look as he skated off to join the rest of the team at the bench. Mike swallowed nervously as he skated toward his side of the ice and waited for the ref to blow the whistle, giving him the signal to charge down the ice with the puck and take the shot that could change the entire outcome of the game.

Mike glanced around and saw that all the fans were on their feet, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Most had their hands covering their faces as they prayed silently for the puck to go into the net. Others had paled at the realization that this could be it…what happened right now could determine the game. Mike felt the pressure building up on him but forced it back down. He couldn't let the moment get to him…he had to keep it simple and keep what was important at the forefront of his mind: Tessa and Brooks and Ashley and the rest of the team. This was for them…no one else…just for them.

The ref blew the whistle and Mike looked down the ice, his eyes hard and determined as he surged forward. He snatched up the puck with his stick and began zigzagging back and forth across the ice, switching the puck to either side of his stick in an effort to confuse the goalie. He stopped short suddenly and feigned a shot down low, making the goalie go down into the full-butterfly position. The goalie realized his mistake but it was too late. Mike lifted his stick high and sent a slapshot high, just below the post, and into the net.

The entire rink exploded in a roar that the whole of Washington D.C. could have easily heard. Lights, sirens and screams rocked the building to its core as the Washington Capitals left the bench and bombarded Mike Green. After several long moments of clobbering Mike, the refs blew their whistles to get everybody back in line. There was still ten seconds left on the clock…ten seconds the Capitals couldn't wait to erase.

The ref dropped the puck and Backstrom snatched up the puck, tossing it behind him and letting Ovechkin take it. Ovechkin held onto it and waited till the clock counted down and the buzzer sounded. The rink exploded with noise once again as the Capitals rushed the ice for the second time that night, this time, lifting the Stanley Cup high over their heads…

…

"Have I told you how proud I am of you?" asked Tessa as she clung onto Mike the next night.

Ashley rolled her eyes, "Yeah like a dozen times in the past hour," she said with amusement as she and Brooks walked hand in hand next to Mike and Tessa along the Mall of D.C.

Tessa shot them playful glares as she held onto a rather proud-looking Mike Green.

"We'll never hear the end of this one," said Brooks, pretending to be annoyed.

Ashley nodded in agreement, laughing at the looks Mike and Tessa were giving her and Brooks.

"Why did we bring them again?" asked Mike with a smirk.

"Because for some reason they're our best friends," answered Tessa, shooting Ashley a playful glare.

They all laughed at that for a moment, then Brooks glanced over at Mike and the two best friends shared a knowing look. They had been planning this for quite some time now and had mercifully been able to keep it a secret. Suddenly, they stopped walking, forcing their girlfriends to do the same. Ashley and Tessa gave their boyfriends confused looks as Mike and Brooks turned to face them…

And at the same time…both hockey players knelt down on one knee…

…

_Forever can never be long enough for me  
>To feel like I've had long enough with you<br>Forget the world now we won't let them see  
>But there's one thing left to do<em>

_Now that the weight has lifted  
>Love has surely shifted my way<br>Marry Me  
>Today and every day<br>Marry Me  
>If I ever get the nerve to say "Hello" in this cafe<br>Say you will  
>Mm-hmm<br>Say you will  
>Mm-hmm<em>

_Together can never be close enough for me  
>Feel like I am close enough to you<br>You wear white and I'll wear out the words I love you  
>And you're beautiful<em>

_Promise me  
>You'll always be<br>Happy by my side  
>I promise to<br>Sing to you  
>When all the music dies<em>

_And marry me  
>Today and everyday<br>Marry me  
>If I ever get the nerve to say "Hello" in this cafe<br>Say you will  
>Mm-hmm<br>Say you will  
>Marry me<em>

….

THE END


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